KALIMANTAN: After months of battling forest and land fires, fire-fighting volunteers in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, were moved to tears when rain finally fell, bringing relief to the fire-hit area.
A video circulating online shows the volunteers holding hands before prostrating themselves on the road in gratitude. They were still wearing their protective helmets, coats and trousers.
According to Tribunnews, the volunteers had spent about four months fighting fires near the border between Kaliukan and Sungai Alat villages in Astambul district, Banjar regency.
The rainfall came after more than 100 days without rain, during which dry conditions allowed fires to spread easily and made them difficult to contain.
Data for Oct 1 to 14 showed that forest and land fires had affected 1,754.30ha in South Kalimantan. Banjar recorded the largest affected area, at 530.61ha.
Heavy rain also drenched Banjarbaru on the afternoon of Oct 25, helping to extinguish fires and improve air quality.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency reported that air quality in Banjarbaru was classified as moderate on Oct 26, with PM2.5 the main pollutant at 28.8 micrograms per cubic metre.
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