Smoke from Kalimantan forest fires reaches Jakarta

Jakarta: Smoke from spreading forest and land fires in Kalimantan has reached Jakarta, prompting Indonesia’s meteorological agency on Friday to advise capital residents to restrict outdoor activities.

Satellite images showed smoke spreading across Kalimantan and Sumatra and reaching Banten, West Java and Jakarta, said Guswanto, a senior agency official, who cautioned that it was unclear whether the smoke had affected ground-level air quality.

As of Friday noon, PM 2.5 concentrations in Jakarta's Kemayoran district reached 67.5 micrograms per cubic meter, a level classified by the agency as unhealthy.

Guswanto advised residents to avoid outdoor exercise and wear face masks, noting that actual health risks depended on air quality measurements rather than satellite images alone.

Seasonal wildfires, worsened this year by dry conditions linked to stronger El Nino, have repeatedly caused thick haze across Indonesia and neighboring countries.