An Indonesian Forestry Ministry official yesterday said the country plans to use cloud-seeding to extinguish raging fires on the Sumatra island that have choked neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia in thick haze.
Mr Raffles Panjaitan said the weather changing technology will aim to put out the fires that are mainly centred on peatlands in Riau province.
He said helicopters will be sent into the skies above Sumatra to inject chemicals into clouds, which will help to prompt the formation of heavy ice crystals and speed up the production of rain. However, he said the helicopters will not be despatched until Friday as preparations need to be made.
He added that the operation will depend on weather conditions, and the worst affected area was Bengkalis district where 650ha of land was ablaze.
The Department of Environment in Malaysia has announced an immediate ban against open burning activities in Selangor, Malacca and Johor until further notice. Director-General Halimah Hassan said yesterday the ban is according to Section 29AA(2) of the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2001.
“Those who are convicted of an open burning offence can face fines of not more than RM500,000 (S$199,400) or a maximum imprisonment of five years, or both. A maximum compound fine of RM2,000 can also be imposed for each offence,” she was quoted by Bernama news agency.
The smog is Malaysia’s worst since 2005, when the authorities declared a state of emergency in two areas.
The Association of South-east Asian Nations had signed an agreement in 2002 on tackling cross-border haze pollution, but Indonesia has so far failed to ratify the document.
Source: Agencies