Indonesia drops 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over South Sumatra in bid to disperse haze

Indonesia conducted a weather modification operation using 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over South Sumatra to disperse haze from forest fires, focusing initially on improving visibility near Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport.

The operation involved three flights over two days, resulting in improved visibility, though further research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of the dry ice method.

The haze also briefly affected Greater Jakarta, but with no significant impact on ground-level air quality observed.

JAKARTA, Oct 17 — Indonesia has deployed a total of 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over South Sumatra in a two-day weather modification operation aimed at dispersing thick haze caused by forest and land fires.

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre acting head Berton Panjaitan said the operation on Oct 15 to 16 initially focused on the area around Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport in Palembang, where thick haze had disrupted flights.

“The weather modification operation over the two days involved three flights, with a total flying time of seven hours and three minutes,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

South Sumatra is among six provinces prioritised by Indonesia for forest and land fire prevention and response, alongside Riau, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, with 189 high-confidence hotspots recorded in the province as of Friday night.

Berton said dry ice was being tested as an alternative method to disperse haze by weakening atmospheric conditions that trap smoke near the ground, potentially allowing it to rise and improve visibility.

He said visibility at the airport improved from 1,000 metres to as much as 3,000 metres during the operation, creating more favourable conditions for flight operations.

However, he acknowledged that further research was needed to determine whether the improvement resulted from the dry ice treatment or other weather factors.

Separately, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in a statement said smoke from forest and land fires briefly reached the atmosphere over Greater Jakarta on Friday but had begun moving away on Saturday, with no evidence of an impact on ground-level air quality.

According to the agency, air quality across Jakarta ranged from good to unhealthy on Saturday, with levels of fine airborne particles (PM2.5) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, recorded at between 46.7 and 109.7 microgrammes per cubic metre. — Bernama

‘Please don’t make us poorer’: Bangkok protesters challenge IMF, World Bank over spending cuts

‘A gun solved the problem of a gun’: Oregon school shooting leaves grandmother grappling with tragedy

Yellow Vests are back, and France is bracing for another wave of cost-of-living protests

Boy dies after running onto road to retrieve ball in Terengganu

Civil Defence Force to run emergency control centres round the clock for monsoon season

Missing father and son found weak after three days in Terengganu forest without food

印度尼西亚在南苏门答腊开展了一项天气改造行动，使用了 2.4 吨干冰来驱散森林火灾产生的烟雾，最初重点是改善苏丹马哈茂德·巴达鲁丁二世国际机场附近的能见度。

此次行动历时两天，共进行了三次飞行，提高了能见度，但还需要进一步研究来证实干冰法的有效性。

雾霾也短暂影响了大雅加达地区，但未观察到对地面空气质量的显著影响。

雅加达，10 月 17 日——印度尼西亚在为期两天的天气改造行动中，在南苏门答腊投放了总计 2.4 吨干冰，旨在驱散森林和土地火灾造成的浓烟。

国家灾害管理机构（BNPB）灾害数据、信息和通信中心代理负责人贝尔顿·潘贾伊坦表示，10月15日至16日的行动最初集中在巨港苏丹马哈茂德·巴达鲁丁二世国际机场附近地区，那里浓重的雾霾扰乱了航班。

“两天的天气改造行动共进行了三次飞行，总飞行时间为7小时3分钟，”他在周六的一份声明中说。

南苏门答腊是印度尼西亚优先考虑森林和土地火灾预防和应对的六个省份之一，其他五个省份分别是廖内省、占碑省、西加里曼丹省、中加里曼丹省和南加里曼丹省。截至周五晚，该省已记录到 189 个高置信度热点。

伯顿表示，干冰正在被测试作为一种替代方法来驱散雾霾，它通过削弱大气条件来减少滞留在地面附近的烟雾，从而使烟雾上升并改善能见度。

他表示，在作业期间，机场的能见度从 1000 米提高到 3000 米，为飞行作业创造了更有利的条件。

然而，他也承认，还需要进一步研究来确定这种改善是由于干冰处理还是其他天气因素造成的。

此外，气象、气候和地球物理局（BMKG）在一份声明中表示，森林和土地火灾产生的烟雾周五短暂地到达了大雅加达地区的大气层，但周六已经开始消散，没有证据表明对地面空气质量造成了影响。

据该机构称，周六雅加达各地的空气质量介于良好至不健康之间，雅加达中部Kemayoran地区的细颗粒物（PM2.5）浓度在每立方米46.7至109.7微克之间。——马新社

“请不要让我们更穷”：曼谷抗议者就国际货币基金组织和世界银行削减开支提出质疑

“一把枪解决了枪支的问题”：俄勒冈州校园枪击案令祖母陷入悲痛之中

“黄背心”运动卷土重来，法国正准备迎接新一波生活成本抗议活动。

登嘉楼一名男孩为捡球跑到马路上身亡

民防部队将在季风季节24小时运转应急控制中心

失踪三天的父子在登嘉楼森林中被发现时已虚弱不堪，且未进食