Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has said that the number of regions targeted for forest and land fire control has tended to increase this year, and not remained limited to the six priority regions.When delivering a report on Monday, head of the Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center of the BNPB, Abdul Muhari, stated that at least 13 incidents of forest and land fires were recorded by the BNPB team from July 11 to 20, 2024.
The 13 incidents were reported from Aceh (West Aceh), North Sumatra (Sipiso-Piso Merek, Karo), and East Java (Bromo Tengger), with a burn area of more than six hectares each. A landfill fire was also recorded in Kupang, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).
The regions are not part of the six regions that are being prioritized based on historical data and risk analysis. However, significant forest and land fires have been detected there since 2023.
"They include West Sumatra on the southern coast and East Kalimantan, forest and mineral land fires are also starting to become intense," he noted.
According to Muhari, the spread of the fires could be caused by an increase in maximum hot temperatures, followed by days without rain, as experienced in western Indonesia and parts of central Indonesia since the beginning of June 2024.
He projected that fires will continue to increase during the peak of the dry season from July 11 to September 2024, as per a study conducted by the BNPB, along with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
To this end, he said, the BNPB has asked regional heads and authorities to respond to drought seriously to prevent fires at hotspots as well as take legal action against those found intentionally causing fires.
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He affirmed that the BNPB is ready to provide close guidance in controlling forest and land fires, for example, in carrying out weather modification operations.
The guidance is being carried out by the BNPB for six priority regions, namely Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan, that have started to get affected by forest and land fires and implemented emergency response status.
"The target is the burned area or area that could potentially catch fire this year must be far below that in 2021 and 2022," Muhari said.
