Category Archives: Haze Review for Year 2019

Review of Land Fires and Smoke Haze Situation for First Fortnight of December 2019

1.1 Following the onset of the dry season in the Mekong sub-region, there has been a gradual increase in the hotspot activities. Isolated hotspots with localised smoke plumes were detected in many areas in the Mekong sub-region. In Thailand, smoke haze from persistent hotspots in central Thailand was blown towards the southwest by the prevailing winds. Air quality at “Very Unhealthy” levels were reported in the Samut Sakhon and Saraburi provinces on occasions.

1.2 In the southern ASEAN region, hotspot activities were largely subdued due to the rainy weather.

Figure 1: Hotspots detected in many parts of the Mekong sub-region during the period of review. There were persistent hotspots detected in central Thailand.

Figure 2: Image from Himawari-8 satellite showing smoke haze from persistent hotspots in central Thailand and localised plumes from isolated hotspots in Cambodia, Myanmar and northeastern Thailand

Review of Land Fires and Smoke Haze Situation for Second Fortnight of November 2019

1.1 During the second fortnight of November 2019, isolated hotspots began to emerge in the Mekong sub-region as dry weather prevailed. These hotspots were mostly short-lived. Localised smoke plumes were observed to emanate from some of the hotspots, particularly from those detected in central Thailand.

1.2 With the end of the dry season and increase in shower activities over the southern ASEAN region, hotspot activities were subdued.

Figure 1: Distribution of hotspots detected based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance and mean winds at 2500 ft in the second fortnight of November 2019 (Source of wind data: JMA)

Figure 2: Isolated hotspots detected mainly in Thailand on 30 Nov 2019.

Review of Land Fires and Smoke Haze Situation for First Fortnight of November 2019

1.1 In the first fortnight of November 2019, hotspot activities in the northern ASEAN region remained subdued.

1.2 In the southern ASEAN region, there were persistent hotspot clusters and moderate to dense smoke haze mainly in the Sumatran provinces of South Sumatra and Lampung. There were also isolated hotspots with localised smoke plumes detected in southern Kalimantan and some parts of the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Figure 1: Distribution of hotspots detected based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance and mean winds at 2500 ft in the first fortnight of November 2019 (Source of wind data: JMA)

Figure 2: NOAA-20 satellite image on 7 November 2019 shows smoke haze from hotspot clusters in the southern parts of Sumatra.

Review of Land Fires and Smoke Haze Situation for Second Fortnight of September 2019

1.1 In the first half of the fortnight, persistent hotspots with moderate to dense smoke haze continued to be detected in Sumatra (mainly in the provinces of Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung), and in Kalimantan (mostly in South, Central and West Kalimantan). Extensive smoke haze from these hotspots was also blown by the prevailing winds to affect parts of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and western Sarawak.

1.2 With increased showers over parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan in the last week of the month, there was a significant improvement in the hazy conditions in the southern ASEAN region. Smoke haze from hotspots continued be observed in the southern ASEAN region but was mainly detected in the southern parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

1.3 In the northern ASEAN region, hotspot activities remained generally subdued during the fortnight.

Figure 1 Smoke haze from hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan spread to neighbouring areas including parts of Peninsular Malaysia and western Sarawak.

Figure 2 Moderate to dense smoke haze from persistent hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan was blown by prevailing winds to affect parts of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and western Sarawak

Figure 3 Increased showers over equatorial region in the last week of September 2019 helped subdue the smoke haze situation; Smoke haze from hotspots was confined to the southern parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan

Figure 4 Distribution of hotspots detected based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance and prevailing winds in the second half of September 2019 (Source of prevailing winds: JMA)

Review of Land Fires and Smoke Haze Situation for First Fortnight of September 2019

1.1 Under prevailing wet conditions, no significant hotspot activity was observed in the northern ASEAN region.

1.2 In the southern ASEAN region, prolonged dry weather in the first fortnight of September 2019 led to the significant increase in the hotspot activities, particularly over Sumatra and Kalimantan. Widespread moderate to dense smoke haze was observed to emanate from persistent hotspots detected in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and hazy conditions had shrouded many areas there during the fortnight period. Some of the smoke haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan had also been blown by the prevailing winds to affect Malaysia and Singapore.

Figure 1: Himawari-8 satellite image on 8 Sep 2019 shows smoke haze from hotspots detected in West, Central and South Kalimantan; some of the smoke haze had been blown toward the adjacent sea areas and western Sarawak.

Figure 2: Himawari-8 satellite image on 10 Sep 2019 shows smoke haze from hotspots detected in southern and central Sumatra; some of the smoke haze had been transported to affect Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

Figure 3: Aqua satellite image on 11 Sep 2019 shows widespread moderate to dense smoke haze from hotspots detected in southern and central Sumatra.

Figure 4: Aqua satellite image on 14 Sep 2019 shows widespread moderate to dense smoke haze from hotspots detected in Kalimantan.

Figure 5: The distribution of hotspots detected from 1 September to 15 September 2019 in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Malaysia, based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance. (Source of prevailing winds: JMA)

Review of Land Fires and Smoke Haze Situation for Second Fortnight of August 2019

1.1 During the second fortnight of August 2019, dry weather over Sumatra and Kalimantan was interspersed with occasional shower activities. In Sumatra, there were persistent clusters of hotspots detected in the central and southern parts of the island, particularly the provinces of Riau and Jambi. Moderate to dense smoke haze was observed to emanate from some of these hotspots.

1.2 In Kalimantan, significant smoke haze from persistent hotspot activities in Central Kalimantan resulted in widespread hazy conditions over the province. Hotspots with smoke haze were also detected in West, South and East Kalimantan. On a few days, some of the smoke haze from persistent hotspots in West Kalimantan was blown by the prevailing winds toward western Sarawak by the prevailing winds.

Figure 1: Hotspots with smoke haze detected in Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra based on NOAA-20 on 19 Aug 2019.

Figure 2: Moderate to dense smoke haze detected in Riau and Jambi, Sumatra based on image from Himawari-8 satellite on 18 August 2019.

Figure 3: Widespread moderate to dense smoke haze detected in Central Kalimantan. Hotspots with smoke haze were also observed in West and East Kalimantan. Image based on Himawari-8 satellite on 16 August 2019.

Review of Land Fires and Smoke Haze Situation for First Fortnight of August 2019

1.1 Under the prevailing dry conditions, significant hotspot activities persisted in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Moderate to dense smoke haze continued to emanate from persistent hotspot clusters detected in Riau and Jambi. Isolated hotspots with smoke plumes were also detected in South Sumatra. The prevailing southerly and southeasterly winds transported some smoke haze toward the Straits of Malacca.

1.2 In Kalimantan, hotspot activities with smoke haze continued to be detected in Central, West and South Kalimantan. In particular, moderate to dense smoke haze was observed from the persistent hotspot clusters in West Kalimantan, and smoke haze emanating from these hotspots was blown by the prevailing southeasterly winds into Sarawak. Moderate to dense smoke haze was also observed near Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan.

1.3 Isolated hotspots with smoke plumes were also detected in Sarawak. For a few days, smoke plumes from hotspots in Miri, Sarawak were blown eastwards toward Brunei.

Figure 1: Himawari-8 satellite image showing moderate to dense smoke haze from hotspots detected in central and southern Sumatra.

Figure 2: Himawari-8 satellite image showing moderate to dense smoke haze from persistent hotspots near Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. Smoke plumes were also observed in West and South Kalimantan. Smoke haze in West Kalimantan was blown into Sarawak by the prevailing winds. In Sarawak, smoke plumes from hotspots in Miri were blown eastwards toward Brunei.