MEDIA RELEASE

START OF DRY SEASON IN THE NORTHERN ASEAN REGION

Singapore, 9 December 2021 – The traditional dry season in the northern ASEAN region has started and is expected to extend into May 2022. The dry season usually sets-in following the Northeast Monsoon, which has become established over the ASEAN region in the past few weeks.

2          The equatorial Pacific Ocean is currently in a La Niña phase, which typically brings more rainfall to parts of the region. For the December 2021 to March 2022 period, near-to-above average rainfall is predicted for many parts of the northern ASEAN region, except for northern parts of Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

3          While this traditional dry season is predicted to experience near-to-above average rainfall over most of the region, fire hotspots and smoke haze could still develop during extended periods of dry and warm weather. During the Northeast Monsoon, the low-level winds in the region typically blow from the northeast or east. Transboundary haze may occur if the winds blow any smoke haze from fires to neighbouring countries. Early precautionary and mitigation measures are advised to prevent the occurrence of transboundary haze in the region.

4          For regular and ad-hoc updates of the regional weather and smoke haze situation and early warnings, please visit the ASMC website at http://asmc.asean.org.

[1] The northern ASEAN region comprises of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.