雅加达：印度尼西亚已向苏门答腊岛上的南苏门答腊省投放了2.4吨干冰，试图驱散森林和土地火灾造成的浓烟。
JAKARTA: 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.
国家灾害管理局（BNPB）灾害数据、信息与通信中心代理主任贝尔顿·潘贾伊坦表示，为期两天的行动从10月15日至16日，最初集中在巨港苏丹马赫穆德·巴达鲁丁二世国际机场周边地区，该地区浓烟导致航班中断。
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.
“为期两天的天气改良行动共进行三次飞行，总飞行时间为七小时三分钟，”他在周六（10月17日）的一份声明中表示，当地媒体引用了该声明。
“The weather modification operation over the two days involved three flights, with a total flying time of seven hours and three minutes,” he said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 17), cited in local media.
据贝尔顿称，行动期间机场能见度从1000米提高到最高3000米。不过，他补充说，还需要进一步研究，以确定这种改善是由干冰还是其他天气因素造成的。
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.
印度尼西亚气象、气候和地球物理局（BMKG）在另一份声明中表示，森林和土地火灾产生的烟雾周五短暂到达大雅加达上空的大气层，但周六开始移开，没有证据表明其影响地面空气质量。
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.
贝尔顿表示，干冰正在作为一种替代方法进行测试，以驱散浓烟，通过削弱将烟雾困在地面附近的大气条件，可能使其上升并改善能见度。
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.
南苏门答腊是印度尼西亚优先开展森林和土地火灾预防与应对的六个省份之一，其他省份包括里奥、詹比、西加里曼丹、中加里曼丹和南加里曼丹。截至周五晚间，该省记录了189个高置信度热点。
South Sumatra is among six provinces prioritised by Indonesia for forest and land fire prevention and response, alongside Riau, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, with 189 high-confidence hotspots recorded in the province as of Friday night.
它也是首个被选中测试干冰技术的印度尼西亚省份。协调政治与安全事务部长杜东·阿卜杜拉赫曼表示，该技术的实施是根据总统普拉博沃·苏比安托的直接指示进行的，旨在加快减轻火灾影响的努力。
It is also the first Indonesian province selected to test the dry-ice technique, which Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said was being carried out on the direct instructions of President Prabowo Subianto to accelerate efforts to mitigate the impact of the fires.
该行动将接受评估，以确定该技术在散散雾霾方面的有效性，以及是否可以在其他受影响地区部署。
The operation will be evaluated to determine how effective the technique is at dispersing haze and whether it can be deployed in other affected regions.
此次试验是一系列寻找新方法以应反复笼罩该地区的雾霾的火灾的最新努力。
The trial is the latest in a series of efforts to find new ways to combat fires that have repeatedly blanketed the region in haze.
其他方法包括一种名为Realiza Antichamas的葡萄牙粉末，与水混合后会形成一种抑制火灾的凝胶。
Other methods include a Portuguese powder called Realiza Antichamas which forms a fire-suppressing gel when mixed with water.
据杜东引用的地区媒体报道称，该产品已在南苏门答腊和加里曼丹进行试验，并将通过直升机以及地面人员进行部署。他补充说，该凝胶不会对野生动物造成伤害，也不会杀死植物。然而，杜东承认，尽管结果“最佳”，但该凝胶仍处于试验阶段。
The product has been trialled in South Sumatra and Kalimantan, and would be deployed by helicopter as well as by ground crews, according to Dudung, as quoted by regional media reports. He added that the gel did not harm wildlife nor kill plants. However, Dudung acknowledged that, while results “were optimal”, the gel was still in trial stages.
媒体报道中引用的演示未能确定该凝胶是否能够扑灭已经在地下深处持续燃烧的火灾。
Demonstrations cited in media reports did not establish whether the gel could extinguish fires already smouldering deep underground.