JAKARTA: Indonesia's meteorology agency has detected five forest and land fire hotspots in Riau province, specifically in the districts of Bengkalis, Kuantan Singingi, and Indragiri Hulu.
"We've identified one hotspot in Bengkalis district, two in Kuantan Singingi, and another two in Indragiri Hulu," said Indah DN, a forecaster with Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency.
Speaking to the local news outlet Berita Satu on Friday, she also noted similar hotspots in other provinces, with two each in South Sumatra and Lampung.
In her weather update for Pekanbaru, Indah reported partly cloudy skies with intermittent sunshine and forecasted light to moderate rainfall in multiple districts.
On air quality, she reported that Pekanbaru and its surrounding areas currently have good air quality, with moderate levels of particulate matter recorded.
Indonesia often faces recurring drought conditions, experiencing widespread forest and land fires annually.
Despite heightened El Niño effects and even drier conditions in 2023, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry reported a significant reduction in forest and land fires, down 31 per cent compared to 2019. – BERNAMA