By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-10-19 00:21:16 | Updated at 2026-10-19 01:41:07
1 hour ago
JAKARTA – Air quality in Batam worsened on Oct 18 after haze from forest and land fires arrived on mainland Sumatra Island, while the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) declared air quality on the island as “unhealthy”.
North Sumatra has meanwhile ordered distance learning for all school levels to start on Oct 16 due to the haze covering all regions in the province and a rain-making airplane has been transferred to Lampung to help extinguish forest and land fires in Riau.
