Thick haze from the fires envelopes several Sumatran towns and throws the Riau capital Pekanbaru, a major oil town, into darkness even at midday. Heavy rains in Sumatra have slightly eased the density of the haze, but when the dry season begins next month it is feared the situation will get much worse. Local officials have already distributed surgical masks to people to reduce the potential number of citizens who will get respiratory ailments. In West Kalimantan, the fires are even more serious and the haze is approaching alarm levels. Air traffic to Pontianak has been seriously disrupted by the haze.
Flights reportedly can land only after midmorning if strong sea breezes blow off the morning haze.
In a statement, the U.N. Environmental Program expressed concern over the possibility the fires may reach the level of the 1997 disaster. It said the haze from the fires has driven the pollution index on the islands above the 300 mark, a level considered unhealthy and way beyond the normal level of less than 50. Last week, the Indonesian government declared the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan to be national disasters and logging and plantation firms have been warned their licenses could be revoked. Following Keraf's warning, the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations said at least four logging firms are to be blamed for the current forest fires. The environmental laws only punish those caught burning forests, not plantations where many of the forest fires start.