FX.co ★ Indonesia air pollution hits record high

On Tuesday, August 30, school lessons were canceled in Indonesia, particularly in Riau province, on the island of Sumatra. The cause was the contaminated air, which became so because of forest fires. The pollution index exceeded the reading of 360 units. Any air pollution reading higher than 200 is deemed hazardous.

The Education Department of Riau said that the learning process would be resumed after the decrease in the level of atmospheric pollution. According to The Jakarta Post, in many cities in Riau, visibility dropped to 500 meters due to the strong smoke.

Plagued by the stifling smell of burning vegetation that wafted into homes and offices in the city-state, residents flocked to pharmacies to buy protective face masks after the Department of Provincial Health Service, urged people to remain indoors. Note that in 2015, the powerful smoke caused by forest fires, provoked a lot of diseases in more than 100 thousand inhabitants of the country.

Earlier, the authorities of several provinces, including Riau, introduced an emergency situation regime. This was due to a threatening number of forest fires. So, 22 thousand rescuers and 17 aircraft were sent to extinguish fires. However, according to Sutopo Purvo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Agency for the Elimination of Natural Disasters of Indonesia, the situation will be normalized not before the end of October, with the beginning of the rainy season.