The Jakarta Post, 18 July 2018
The number of hot spots in Riau has doubled in the past two days, only weeks prior to the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang and Jakarta. The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 29 hotspots in four regencies and cities across Riau, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) data released on Tuesday (July 17) morning. Dumai had the most hot spots with 15 while seven others were identified in Rokan Hilir regency, six in Bengkalis and one in Siak. Out of 29 hot spots identified, 24 have a level of certainty higher than 70%, meaning the hotspots very likely are fires, BMKG Palembang Spokesman Marzuki said, adding that the number of hotspots had doubled within only a day.