Hotspots in Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan Increased in Early October 2023

Hotspots are areas with higher temperatures than their surroundings, detectable by satellites to indicate forest and land fire locations (karhutla).

Based on data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), two of the six provinces prioritized for karhutla handling in Indonesia experienced an increase in the number of hotspots in the last week.

"Of the 6 priority provinces, only Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) and West Kalimantan (Kalbar) showed a slight increase in hotspots," said Head of BNPB's Data, Information, and Disaster Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, in a broadcast on the official BNPB YouTube channel on Tuesday (10/10/2023).

The other four provinces, namely South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Jambi, and Riau, recorded a decrease in the number of hotspots in early October 2023.

BNPB recorded 30,792 hotspots in Central Kalimantan from October 1-7, 2023. This is an 18.7% increase from the 25,950 hotspots recorded from September 25-30, 2023.

Thus, Central Kalimantan remains the province with the highest number of hotspots among the six priority provinces for karhutla handling.

Meanwhile, 17,141 hotspots were detected in West Kalimantan at the end of September 2023. This number increased by 22.6% to 14,439 hotspots in early October 2023.

According to Abdul, the peak of hotspots occurred in the last week of September 2023. In the first week of October, several areas began to receive rain, resulting in a decrease in the number of hotspots in several regions.

"So, although fires are still burning in some places, the fairly intense rain in several areas has reduced the number of fire points and the area burned," he explained.

Cumulatively, the total number of hotspots in these six provinces reached 60,367 in early October. This represents a 5.4% decrease from the previous week.

(See also: There were 3,000 Disasters in Indonesia until Early October 2023, Floods were the Most Frequent)