Alert Warning: Forest and Land Fires (Karhutla) Still Potential in Three Indonesian Provinces

Human Initiative – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned the public in the provinces of South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and East Nusa Tenggara to remain vigilant about forest and land fires (Karhutla). BMKG has predicted that Karhutla is still potential on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.

In the warning issued by BMKG, the public is urged to be cautious about the haze as a result of Karhutla. As reported by Antara, BMKG also advises people not to conduct land burning for any purpose.

Although Karhutla events have been a concern since the prolonged dry season that hit Indonesia from late May until now, the main cause is not the dry season. Abdul Muhari, the Head of the Data, Information, and Communication Center for Disaster Management at BNPB, revealed that human intervention is still a factor in current Karhutla cases.

“So it’s not the dry season that causes the fires, but it’s a catalyst. The fires are certainly still due to human intervention because fires don’t suddenly appear in nature,” said Abdul, as quoted from Katadata.

According to Abdul, the drought disaster has made the land dry. The faster spread of fires also occurs due to hot weather during the peak of the dry season.

According to data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) cited by Kompas, the number of Karhutla incidents in Indonesia in 2023 is quite concerning. In less than 10 months, there have been 578 Karhutla incidents, and this number is potentially increasing by the end of 2023. This year’s events have drawn attention, considering that in 2022, there were only 160 Karhutla incidents, and in 2021, there were 269 Karhutla incidents.

Source Data:
1. https://www.antaranews.com/berita/3765264/bmkg-prakirakan-karhutla-masih-berpotensi-terjadi-di-tiga-provinsi
2. https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/09/20/55-bencana-terjadi-pada-tengah-september-2023-karhutla-mendominasi
3. https://www.kompas.id/baca/riset/2023/10/05/perkara-kabut-asap-karhutla-di-lintas-batas-negara

Source Photo:
Smoke rises high from burning forests in the Cimtrop Peat Forest Nature Laboratory, Kereng Bangkirai Sub-district, Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, on Sunday (8/10/2023). ANTARA FOTO/Auliya Rahman/tom.