Haze continues to spread throughout archipelago

As mitigation efforts have yielded minimal results, haze from raging wildfires in Indonesia continues to spread, with almost all major islands in the archipelago affected by the hazardous smoke, some of which has made it as far as the Philippines.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said on Saturday the haze had caused the air quality in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore to deteriorate.

“The haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan continues to spread,” BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) earlier reported that the Himawari satellite showed “a thin haze blanketing the Java Sea and parts of Jakarta”.

The report was quickly dispelled by the BMKG, saying the haze did not come from land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, it was just regular haze.

“Today, Java is still relatively safe [from the haze],” BMKG spokesman Fachri Radjab said.

Another BMKG spokesman, Harry Tirto Djatmiko, said haze from land and forest fires usually hovered between altitudes of 3,000 and 5,000 meters. “For altitudes up until 3,000m, it’s just regular haze,” he said, explaining the characteristic of the haze in Jakarta.

While Java continues to be free from haze, almost all major islands in Indonesia have been affected, with Sulawesi being the latest casualty.

BMKG Southeast Sulawesi chapter in Kendari said haze from the southern part of Papua had traveled to some parts of the province, blanketing Kendari, Konawe, Bombana North Konawe, South Konawe, Baubau, Buton and Muna.

“Based on Himawari satellite images on Friday, the haze only covered Kendari and parts of South Konawe. But today, almost all of Southeast Sulawesi has been affected by the haze from Papua,” BMKG Kendari spokesman Aris Yunatas said.

 The haze has also disrupted flights across the Philippines, forcing carriers to cancel flights, close airports and ground small aircraft.

In separate advisories, Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific said they had not been flying to Cotabato city in the southern island of Mindanao since Oct. 17.

This week, Cebu Pacific also cancelled two flights to General Santos city, also in Mindanao, on Thursday. On Friday, both airlines canceled flights to a third city, Dumaguete, in the central Philippines.

Cotabato, General Santos and Dumaguete are gateways to central and southern regions in the Philippines that are home to at least 10 million.

At least eight haze-affected airports, meanwhile, have grounded planes without instruments that will allow pilots to land and takeoff in low to near-zero visibility.

These include Clark airport, in the main island of Luzon, just two hours north of the capital Manila.

The others are in Cotabato, Davao, Laguindingan, Tambler and Zamboanga in Mindanao, and Mactan and Busuanga in central Philippines.

Thick layers of greyish clouds consistent with haze have been blanketing large parts of Mindanao and central Philippines this month.

Besides disrupting flights, the haze has put the lives of many people at risk, with more than 500,000 people suffering from respiratory problems due to the haze in six provinces in Indonesia.

 President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Friday ordered an immediate evacuation of babies, children and people vulnerable to worsening air quality.

To start the evacuation efforts, five ministers, including Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan and Health Minister Nila F Moeloek, flew to South Kalimantan.

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani was not among the entourage, despite her position as the coordinator of several ministries in charge of the evacuation, such as the Social Ministry and the Health Ministry. - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/