Air Quality Improves in Pekanbaru, BNPB Reports

The Indonesia National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said air quality in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, has improved. Visibility in the city has reached more than nine kilometers, although fires are still burning in four areas.

Berton SP Panjaitan, who is in charge of disaster data, information and communication at BNPB, said residents could continue their normal activities and that schools should continue holding regular in-person classes.

On Sunday, August 30, Pekanbaru held a car-free day. “This shows that air quality in Riau, especially in Pekanbaru, has improved,” Panjaitan said on Tuesday.

BNPB and joint teams continued efforts to extinguish fires, with ground teams battling blazes in the districts of Indragiri Hilir, Indragiri Hulu, Pelalawan, Siak and Bengkalis. Meanwhile, two helicopters monitored the hotspots.

The aerial team also monitored wind direction and conducted water-bombing operations, dropping 516,000 liters of water during five missions, he said.

As of August 31, ground teams had extinguished fires covering approximately 126.65 hectares in Riau, while aerial teams had helped control fires covering 8.8 hectares.

Panjaitan said weather modification operations could not be carried out in Riau because there were not enough suitable clouds for cloud seeding.

Source : https://en.antaranews.com/news/429341/air-quality-improves-in-pekanbaru-despite-four-hotspots-bnpb-says?utm_source=antaranews&utm_medium=desktop&utm_campaign=editor_picks