Category Archives: Haze Review for Year 2026

May 11, 2026

Review of Regional Haze Situation for April 2026

1.1 In April 2026, the prevailing winds across most of the ASEAN region turned light and variable in direction, except for the Philippines where the winds blew mostly from the northeast to east, and in the southern and central parts of the Mekong sub-region where winds blew from the southeast or southwest, as the monsoon rainband shifted northwards towards the Equator (Figure 1). This is characterised with the transition of the Northeast Monsoon into the inter-monsoon conditions.

1.2 Although isolated rainfall was observed over some parts of the Mekong sub-region and the southern parts of Philippines, dry conditions continued over most of the northern ASEAN region during the review period (Figure 1). There was a gradual increase in the shower activities in the second half of the month. In view of the expected ongoing rainfall over the Mekong sub-region, which could alleviate hotspot and haze conditions, the Alert Level for the sub-region was downgraded to Alert Level 2 on 24 April 2026. Meanwhile, showers prevailed over most of the southern ASEAN region, apart from the eastern parts of Peninsular Malaysia and the northern and eastern parts of Borneo, where conditions were drier (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Average Daily Rainfall and Mean Winds for April 2026. (Source: JAXA GsMaP and GFS, respectively)

1.3 Over the northern ASEAN region, the hotspot counts for April 2026 were generally higher than or comparable to previous years, notably in Thailand where the hotspot counts were the highest in 5 years (Figure 2). Over the southern ASEAN region, the hotspot counts for April 2026 were generally lower or comparable to previous years, except in Sabah and Sarawak, where the highest hotspot count was recorded in 5 years (Figure 3).

Figure 2: Hotspot counts for the northern ASEAN region for April (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 3: Hotspot counts for the southern ASEAN region for April (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

1.4 Scattered to widespread hotspots were detected in the Mekong sub-region. Persistent and intense hotspots were detected mostly in Myanmar, Lao PDR, as well as the northern and western parts of Thailand (Figures 4 and 5). Moderate to dense transboundary smoke plumes were observed across the Mekong sub-region on many days, particularly over Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, the northern and southern parts of Viet Nam, as well as the northern and southern parts of Cambodia (Figure 6, 7 and 8). During periods of dry weather over the southern ASEAN region, slight to moderate smoke plumes were observed emitting from hotspots detected mainly in parts of Peninsular Malaysia, the northern and central parts of Sumatra, as well as parts of Borneo. Dense plumes were also observed in the central parts of Sumatra (Figures 6, 9 and 10).

Figure 4: Distribution of hotspots detected in April 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 5: Maximum fire intensity in April 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 6: Number of days with moderate to dense smoke haze observed in April 2026 based on satellite imagery, ground observations, and air quality reports.

Figure 7: Moderate to dense transboundary smoke plumes observed over parts of Myanmar, Lao PDR, northern, central and eastern Thailand and the northern and central parts of Viet Nam on 3 April 2026. (Source: NOAA-20 satellite surveillance)

Figure 8: Moderate to dense localised and transboundary smoke plumes were observed over the northern and southern parts of Cambodia and the southern parts of Viet Nam on 5 April 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 9: Moderate to dense localised smoke plume observed over the western parts of Peninsular Malaysia and the central parts of Sumatra on 3 April 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 10: Slight to moderate smoke plumes observed over the northern coast of Sarawak on 21 April 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

April 10, 2026

Review of Regional Haze Situation for March 2026

1.1 During March 2026, Northeast Monsoon conditions remained over the ASEAN region. Over regions north of the Equator, the prevailing low-level winds blew mainly from the northeast to east, except over the Mekong sub-region where the winds were generally weaker and blew mostly from the southeast or south (Figure 1). Over regions south of the Equator, the prevailing low-level winds blew from the west to north (Figure 1).

1.2 Dry conditions continued over most of the northern ASEAN region during the review period, except for some showers observed over the southern parts of the Philippines and the northern parts of Myanmar (Figure 1). Meanwhile, showers prevailed over most of the southern ASEAN region, apart from parts of Peninsular Malaysia, the central parts of Sumatra and the northern parts of Borneo, where conditions were drier (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Average Daily Rainfall and Mean Winds for March 2026. (Source: JAXA GsMaP and GFS, respectively)

1.3 Over the northern ASEAN region, the hotspot counts for March 2026 were generally lower than or comparable to previous years (Figure 2). Over the southern ASEAN region, there was an increase in hotspot counts over Kalimantan, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, with the highest count recorded in five years (Figure 3).

Figure 2: Hotspot counts for the northern ASEAN region for March (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 3: Hotspot counts for the southern ASEAN region for March (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

1.4 Scattered to widespread hotspots were detected in the Mekong sub-region. Persistent and intense hotspots were detected mostly in Myanmar, Lao PDR, as well as the northern parts of Thailand and Cambodia (Figures 4 and 5). Moderate to dense transboundary smoke plumes were observed across the Mekong sub-region on many days, particularly over the eastern parts of Myanmar and the northern parts of Thailand, Lao PDR and Viet Nam (Figure 6 and 7). During periods of dry weather over the southern ASEAN region, slight to moderate smoke plumes were observed emitting from hotspots detected mainly in parts of Peninsular Malaysia, the central parts of Sumatra and the northern and western parts of Borneo (Figures 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11).

Figure 4: Distribution of hotspots detected in March 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 5: Maximum fire intensity in March 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 6: Number of days with moderate to dense smoke haze observed in March 2026 based on satellite imagery, ground observations, and air quality reports.

Figure 7: Moderate to dense transboundary smoke plumes observed over parts of Myanmar, northern, central and eastern Thailand, parts of Lao PDR and the northern and central parts of Viet Nam on 31 March 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 8: Moderate localised smoke plume observed over the central parts of Sumatra on 12 March 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 9: Moderate localised smoke plume observed over the southeastern parts of Peninsular Malaysia on 16 March 2026. (Source: NOAA20 satellite surveillance)

Figure 10: Slight to moderate smoke plumes observed over the northern parts of Borneo on 25 March 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 11: Moderate smoke plumes observed over the southeastern parts of Peninsular Malaysia on 30 March 2026. (Source: NOAA20 satellite surveillance)

March 19, 2026

Review of Regional Haze Situation for February 2026

1.1 During February 2026, Northeast monsoon conditions were predominantly observed over the ASEAN region. While the prevailing winds blew mostly from the northeast or northwest over the region, the Mekong sub-region occasionally experienced days with prevailing light and variable winds. (Figure 1)

1.2 Extensive dry conditions were generally observed over the Mekong sub-region as well as the northern parts of the Philippines during the month of February 2026, though there were some showers observed over the southeastern and central parts of the Mekong sub-region on a few days during the last week of February. Parts of Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra also experienced days with relatively lower rainfall during the month (Figure 1). Heavier showers were observed over the Philippines, which can be attributed to Tropical Storm Penha. To reflect the ongoing and expected dry weather conditions over the Mekong sub-region, ASMC issued Alert Level 2 for the Mekong sub-region on 2 February 2026.

Figure 1: Average Daily Rainfall and Mean Winds for February 2026. (Source: JAXA GsMaP and GFS, respectively)

1.3 Despite the drier conditions, hotspot counts over the ASEAN region for February 2026 were observed to be much lower or comparable compared to the hotspot counts from the preceding years (2022-2025), except for Sumatra where hotspot counts were higher.

Figure 2: Hotspot counts for the northern ASEAN region for February (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 3: Hotspot counts for the southern ASEAN region for February (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

1.4 Scattered to widespread hotspots were often observed over the northern and western parts of Cambodia as well as the southern parts of Lao PDR (Figure 4), leading to moderate to dense smoke plumes observed over these areas for many days during February 2026 (Figure 6). Transboundary smoke haze would occasionally occur from the southern parts of Lao PDR to the northern parts of Cambodia, as well as from the western parts of Cambodia to the central parts of Thailand (Figure 8 & 9) . Moderate to dense smoke haze was observed to persist over the central and northern parts of Myanmar under the prevailing light winds situation (Figure 6 and 9 ). In the southern ASEAN region, Smoke plumes were also observed in the southern parts of Peninsular Malaysia, the central parts of Sumatra and in West Kalimantan for a few days in the month. (Figure 6 and 7 )

Figure 4: Distribution of hotspots detected in February 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 5: Maximum fire intensity in February 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 6: Number of days with moderate to dense smoke haze observed in February 2026 based on satellite imagery, ground observations, and air quality reports.

Figure 7: Moderate smoke plume observed over the central parts of Sumatra on 7 February 2026. (Source: NOAA-20 satellite surveillance)

Figure 8: Moderate to dense smoke plumes observed over Cambodia and Lao PDR on 20 February 2026, with transboundary haze drifting from Lao PDR to Cambodia. (Source: NOAA-20 satellite surveillance)

Figure 9: Moderate to dense smoke plumes over the central parts of Myanmar on 16 February 2026. (Source: NOAA-20 satellite surveillance)

February 16, 2026

Review of Regional Haze Situation for January 2026

1.1 The Northeast Monsoon continued over the ASEAN region throughout January 2026. The prevailing low-level winds over regions north of the Equator blew mainly from the northeast to east, except over the northern parts of the Mekong sub-region where the winds were light and variable in direction (Figure 1). Over regions south of the Equator, the prevailing low-level winds blew mainly from the west to north (Figure 1).

1.2 Dry weather persisted over the Mekong sub-region, Peninsular Malaysia and the northern parts of the Philippines in January 2026. Showers were observed elsewhere in the ASEAN region (Figure 1), with the areas south of the Equator, the eastern parts of Borneo and the central parts of the Philippines experiencing higher rainfall. The latter was due to the influence of Tropical Storm NOKAEN.

Figure 1: Average Daily Rainfall and Mean Winds for January 2026. (Source: JAXA GsMaP and GFS, respectively)

1.3 The hotspot counts over the northern ASEAN region were generally lower than or comparable to those recorded in the same month during previous years (Figure 2). Over the southern ASEAN region, the hotspot counts were mostly higher compared to previous years, especially over Kalimantan and Sumatra, where there was a significant increase in hotspot activity, with the highest count recorded in five years (Figure 3).

Figure 2: Hotspot counts for the northern ASEAN region for January (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 3: Hotspot counts for the southern ASEAN region for January (2022-2026) based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

1.4 Persistent and intense hotspots were detected mostly in Cambodia, Myanmar and the southern parts of Lao PDR (Figures 4 and 5). During prolonged periods of dry weather, moderate and persistent smoke plumes were observed mainly over the central parts of Myanmar and the northern parts of Cambodia. Smoke plumes were also observed over the other parts of the Mekong sub-region, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Kalimantan (Figures 6 to 10).

Figure 4: Distribution of hotspots detected in January 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 5: Maximum fire intensity in January 2026 based on NOAA-20 satellite surveillance.

Figure 6: Number of days with moderate to dense smoke haze observed in January 2026 based on satellite imagery, ground observations, and air quality reports.

Figure 7: Slight to moderate localized smoke plumes observed over the northern and eastern parts of Cambodia, as well as the southern parts of Viet Nam on 9 January 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 8: Slight to moderate localized smoke plumes observed over the northern parts of Viet Nam on 14 January 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 9: Slight to moderate localized smoke plumes observed over the central parts of Myanmar on 23 January 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)

Figure 10: A moderate smoke plume observed over the eastern parts of Johor on 31 January 2026. (Source: Himawari-9 satellite surveillance)