Air quality in forest, peatland fire areas gets better: Indonesian minister
Indonesian officials have confirmed that air quality in areas experiencing forest and peatland fires in many localities of the country has improved over the past week.
Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar holds up a placard given to companies that have shown progress in reducing the amount of plastic they use and produce during a virtual awarding ceremony in Jakarta (Photo courtesy of KLHK)
Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesian officialshave confirmed that air quality in areas experiencing forest and peatland firesin many localities of the country has improved over the past week.
Environmentand Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told the press on October 6 that despite fluctuations, airquality in the regions where the peat and forest fires were found was gettingbetter.
According to her, they are working to handle theforest and land fires in Borneo and Sumatra islands as well as possible. Rain is aiding the process, she went on, adding that Indonesia is also makingefforts to deploy cloud seeding.
Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia's dry season. There are more than 1,900 hotspots recorded in𒅌 Sumatra, mostly in South Sumatra province, according to thedata from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophys﷽ics Agency. On October2, the local government of South Sumatra asked residents to work from home andschools to go online amid a blanket of haze./.
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Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar holds up a placard given to companies that have shown progress in reducing the amount of plastic they use and produce during a virtual awarding ceremony in Jakarta (Photo courtesy of KLHK) 
