Antara, Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Forecaster Yasir Prayuna said that 609 hotspots were detected in Sumatra on Monday, September 4, 2023. The number of hotspots has declined from the previous day which recorded 717 hotspots in the area.

"Despite the decrease in number of hotspots in Sumatera, the current number is still considered high and requires serious attention to avoid the spreading of wildfires," said Yasir in Pekanbaru on Monday.

Yasir mentioned that according to BMKG's data, South Sumatra still recorded the highest number of hotspots with 343 spots. Additionally, other provinces are also at risk of wildfires, namely Lampung (81 hotspots), Jambi (69 hotspots), Bangka Belitung (67 hotspots), West Sumatra (19 hotspots), Bengkulu (17 hotspots), Riau Islands (3 hotspots), and Riau (10 hotspots).

Therefore, the government, related agencies, and the public are warned to remain vigilant, boost preventive measures, and conduct wildfire management in areas adjacent to the hotspots.

Meanwhile, on Monday, joint officers from land and air are still in the middle of a cooling down process after the wildfire in Pancur Village, Keritang Sub-district, upstream and downstream of Indragiri Regency.

"Currently, the joint officers are carrying out efforts to put out the fire from land and from the air using helicopter water bombings," said the head of Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency M. Edi Afrizal.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1768191/bmkg-detects-hundreds-of-hotspots-in-sumatr