Pekanbaru Haze Cuts Visibility to 2 Kilometers as Air Quality Turns Hazardous

August 25, 2026 | 09:47 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Pekanbaru Station of the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Riau Province reported that haze is blanketing Pekanbaru City, reducing visibility to approximately 2 kilometers and resulting in hazardous air quality.

Ranti Kurniati, a forecaster at the BMKG Pekanbaru Station, stated on Tuesday that these visibility figures were based on data updates recorded since 16:00 WIB (Western Indonesian Time) on Monday, August 24, 2026. Visibility was observed at 2 km in Pekanbaru City (hazy) and Rengat (hazy), while Pelalawan recorded 5 km and Tambang 3 km, both with haze.

According to her, the haze caused air quality in Pekanbaru City—measured by PM2.5 levels—to reach the hazardous range starting early Tuesday morning. The reading peaked at 508.8 micrograms per cubic meter at 01:00 WIB.

Meanwhile, a total of 2,193 hotspots were detected across Sumatra on Monday (August 24). The highest number was recorded in South Sumatra with 1,207 hotspots, followed by Riau Province with 393.

The remaining hotspots were distributed across Jambi (262), Lampung (138), Bangka Belitung (77), Riau Islands (57), Bengkulu (19), North Sumatra (18), West Sumatra (13), and Aceh (9).

Within Riau Province, the highest number of hotspots was found in Pelalawan Regency (153), followed by Indragiri Hilir Regency (140). The rest were located in Bengkalis (32), Indragiri Hulu (26), Kampar (12), Siak (6), Rokan Hulu (6), Meranti Islands (3), Pekanbaru City (3), and Kuantan Singingi (1).

Forest and land fires are still occurring in Riau Province; the largest blaze is in Pelalawan Regency, covering an area of 700 hectares. Other affected areas include Indragiri Hulu (471 hectares), as well as Indragiri Hilir and Kampar, where fires cover tens of hectares.

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