Indonesia records decline in forest and land fire hotspots

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4 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry reported that the national count of forest and land fire hotspots dropped to 365 on Monday (September 28), down from 559 recorded on Sunday (September 27).

“This drop is positive progress, though conditions vary across regions,” head of the ministry’s Bureau of Public Relations and International Cooperation, Ristianto Pribadi, said in a statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The 365 high-confidence hotspots were spread across several locations, primarily within the six provinces prioritized for fire control.

According to Ristianto, among the six, South Sumatra recorded the highest number of high-confidence hotspots, while Central Kalimantan saw a significant decline.

Ministry data showed that as of 9:00 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Monday (September 28), South Sumatra recorded 96 hotspots, Central Kalimantan 37, Jambi 25, and South Kalimantan four. Meanwhile, West Kalimantan and Riau reported zero hotspots.

He noted that overall, high-confidence hotspots in the six priority provinces fell from 204 to 162.

However, operations are currently being stepped up, particularly in areas showing an increase or maintaining high hotspot activity, specifically South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan.

Hotspots do not represent actual fire occurrences, but rather thermal surface anomalies detected by NASA’s Terra/Aqua, SNPP, and NOAA-20 satellites.

Despite the decline, Ristianto assured that fire control efforts remain underway, with the government deploying a fleet of 61 aircraft, including 17 units for patrols and weather modification operations, as well as 44 units tasked with water bombing.

He affirmed that the government continues to pay special attention to peatlands, as fires there can smolder underground even after surface flames appear to be extinguished.

“Therefore, the wetting and cooling process must continue until the location is completely secure,” he added.