Indonesia drops 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over South Sumatra to tackle haze

Indonesia has deployed 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over South Sumatra provice on Sumatra island in a bid to disperse thick haze from forest and land fires.

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre Acting Head Berton Panjaitan said the two-day operation from Oct 15 to Oct 16 initially focused on the area around Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport in Palembang, where thick haze had disrupted flights.



Visibility at the airport improved from 1,000m to as much as 3,000m during the operation, according to Berton.



However, he added, further research is needed to determine whether the improvement was caused by the dry ice or other weather factors.



Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said in a separate statement that smoke from forest and land fires briefly reached the atmosphere over Greater Jakarta on Friday but had begun moving away on Saturday, with no evidence of an impact on ground-level air quality.



Berton said dry ice was being tested as an alternative method to disperse haze by weakening atmospheric conditions that trap smoke near the ground, potentially allowing it to rise and improve visibility.