September 2019 is a month that won’t be forgotten by the people of Jambi. How could they? They were surrounded by smoke from the burning forests throughout the whole of September. And even at the end of the month the sky was still glowed dark red at 12.00.
The worst of the fires took place around Puding Village and Mekar Sari Village, Kumpeh Sub-district, Muaro Jambi District. Although rains fell in a number of areas, fire and smoke didn’t altogether disappear. A team from the Forest and Land Fires Unit still struggles to contain the fire, particularly in Kumpeh Sub-district.
The monitoring of Air Pollution Standard Index (ISPU) using the Air Quality Monitoring System (AQMS), recorded a concentration of particles of PM 10, indicating that the air was unhealthy and a danger to health. At least 63,554 patients were seen by the Jambi health center, the majority of which were suffering upper-respiratory tract infections and which resulted in four fatalities.
The education sector was also disrupted and schools were closed because the air quality had reached dangerous levels and caused health problems. This is evidenced by the air quality results. Economic activities were paralyzed, particularly because many fields and orchards were razed to the ground. Based on analysis of data obtained by Citra Satellite TM 8 and Sentinel 2 Satellite by the CIS team from Warsi Indonesia Community Conservation on 2 October 2019, at least 126,000 hectares of forest were burnt to the ground.
Because of the number of victims and the scale of the losses sustained, Indonesia for Humanity (IKa) in partnership with Mitra Aksi Jambi and under the umbrella of the Pundi Hijau program was able to raise a total of 9.9 million rupiah. We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to the people who donated to the fund which has helped our friends in Jambi to continue their struggle.
These public funds were distributed by providing masks, medication, and milk for children and infants. The Mitrak Aksi team also providing funding to the Farmers for Fires Response (KTPA) team in Catur Rahayu and Jatimulyo villages to carry out monitoring activities in locations impacted by the fires but which had yet to be contacted by local government.