Regional Haze Situation

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Latest Weather and Haze Situation

Dry conditions prevailed over the Mekong sub-region today except for isolated showers over the central parts of the Mekong sub-region. Scattered hotspots were detected in the central parts of Lao PDR while isolated hotspots were detected in the southern parts of Lao PDR, the northern parts of Cambodia and the central parts of Myanmar. Moderate to dense smoke haze was observed in the central parts of Myanmar and Thailand. Moderate to dense smoke plumes were also observed in the central and southern parts of Lao PDR and the northern parts of Cambodia. The full extent of the hotspot and haze situation over the Mekong sub-region could not be fully determined due to extensive cloud cover.

Meanwhile, scattered showers were observed over the southern ASEAN region today. A few hotspots were detected in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Borneo. Localised smoke plumes were observed in the central parts of Sumatra, the eastern parts of Sarawak and the southern parts of Peninsular Malaysia.

Weather and Haze Outlook

Dry conditions are forecast to prevail over the northern ASEAN region over the next few days, which can lead to persistent hotspot and smoke haze activities as well as a risk of transboundary haze occurrence in the Mekong sub-region. The prevailing winds over the Mekong sub-region are forecast to blow from the southwest to west while winds over the Philippines are forecast to continue blowing from the northeast or east.

Over the southern ASEAN region, isolated showers are forecast except for drier conditions forecast over the eastern parts of Peninsular Malaysia. Isolated hotspots and a few smoke plumes can emerge in areas facing relatively drier conditions. The prevailing winds over many parts of the southern ASEAN region are expected to transition to light and variable winds, except for winds over Sulawesi and the Lesser Sunda Islands forecast to blow from the west or northwest, and winds over Peninsular Malaysia forecast to blow from the northeast.

  • All maps are to be used solely for displaying meteorological/geophysical information, and not for any other purpose. All maps are not to scale and for illustrative purpose only.
  • The hotspots depicted on the map are derived from the NOAA satellite and they represent locations with possible fires. Hotspots may go undetected due to cloudy conditions or incomplete satellite pass.
  • At Alert Level 0 and Alert Level 1, the regional haze situation is updated once a day at 0900 UTC. The regional haze situation is updated more frequently at 0300 UTC and 0900 UTC upon activation of Alert Level 2 or Alert Level 3. Updates at 0300 UTC display hotspot information from night-time passes of the NOAA-20 satellite. Fewer hotspots were typically detected at night as fire activities usually peak during the day.
  • Reprocessed satellite data will be availed at a later timing. The hotspot information derived from satellite data reprocessed may differ slightly from that received near real-time but reprocessing is necessary for better quality data.
  • The 2500 ft winds (depicted by arrows) are model analysis winds.

Seasonal Forecast for February – April 2026

Summary of Outlook

The Northeast Monsoon prevailed over the ASEAN region, with low-level winds blowing predominantly from the northwest or northeast, and typically persists over the ASEAN region until late March. During this period, the northern ASEAN region experiences its traditional dry season as the monsoon rainband remains south of the Equator. While showers are typical over the southern ASEAN region during its traditional wet season, this area can experience periods of drier conditions during the dry phase of the Northeast Monsoon, which typically takes place during February to late March. Around late March or early April, the prevailing low-level winds gradually weaken to become light and variable in direction as the Northeast Monsoon transitions into inter-monsoon conditions, when the showers gradually return to the northern ASEAN region.

For February 2026, above-normal rainfall is predicted for much of the northeastern Maritime Continent. For February – April 2026 the above-normal rainfall is predicted to persist, along with below-normal rainfall for much of the central Maritime Continent. La Niña conditions are predicted to weaken and then transition to ENSO-neutral in February – March 2026. La Niña events tend to bring wetter conditions to parts of Southeast Asia. Above-normal temperature is predicted for most of the Maritime Continent and northern and western Mainland Southeast Asia for FMA 2026.

With near- to below-normal rainfall predicted over the Mekong sub-region during the outlook period, further intensification of hotspots and smoke haze activities, with a risk of transboundary smoke haze occurrence, can be expected over fire-prone areas experiencing prolonged dry conditions. Over the southern ASEAN region, overall hotspot activity is expected to remain subdued. However, it could increase, with localised smoke plume occurrences, during periods of drier conditions under the dry phase of the Northeast Monsoon, especially in areas where below-normal rainfall is predicted.

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Recent Updates

13

Mar

Review of Regional Weather for February 2026
ODuring February 2026, above-average rainfall was recorded over much of the northern half of the Maritime Continent with near-average rainfall over most of…
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11

Mar

Subseasonal Weather Outlook (16 – 29 March 2026)
Over most of the central and eastern equatorial region in Week 1 (2 – 8 March), drier than usual conditions for this time of the year are predicted, along with warmer than usual temperatures. Over much of the northeastern Maritime Continent in Week 2…
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06

Mar

Seasonal Forecast for March – May 2026
Under the prevailing Northeast Monsoon, the northern and southern ASEAN regions continue to experience their traditional dry and wet seasons respectively as the monsoon rainband is located south of the Equator, with prevailing low-level winds blowing from the northwest or northeast over the region. While showers are typical over the southern ASEAN region, occasional dry conditions can be expected since the region is currently experiencing the dry phase…
More details