AUTHORITIES in Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan have officially declared a state of emergency for 10 days, starting today, following severe air pollution and reduced visibility caused by ongoing forest and land fires, governor H. Sugianto Sabran said.

He said the air pollutant index reached hazardous levels on October 3, with visibility dropping to less than 1,500m on October 2 due to thick smoke. 

“Data collected from January 1 to October 2 revealed a concerning total of 38,104 detected hotspots in the region. This has led to 3,230 recorded instances of forest and land fires, with firefighting efforts successfully extinguishing 9,137ha of affected land,” he said in a statement. 

To address this emergency, authorities have allocated a budget of 110 billion rupiah (RM33 million) to intensify firefighting operations and provide mobile health services to the affected population. – Bernama, October 6, 2023.