Jakarta, MINA – Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) has identified 180 wildfire hotspots in Riau Province from January 1 to July 22, 2025, with Rokan Hilir accounting for the largest share at 106 points.
The situation heightens the threat of forest and land fires across Sumatra.
To mitigate risks, the ministry has mobilized 998 Manggala Agni personnel across 17 operational sectors and 12 forward bases. In Riau, active command posts are located in Dumai, Pekanbaru, Rengat, and Siak, supported by eight special task units deployed to Rokan Hilir.
“Wildfires in tropical ASEAN regions are predominantly human-induced,” said Israr Akbar, Head of MoEF’s Forest Sub-Directorate.
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Between January and May, an estimated 4,500 hectares of land were burned nationwide, based on field verification and satellite imagery. Data from NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites detected 854 thermal anomalies during the same period, all verified prior to suppression efforts.
According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), current conditions indicate a mild dry season, with ENSO and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) indices remaining neutral, suggesting no major climate anomaly impact at this time. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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