Review of Regional Haze Situation for June 2020
1.1 Southwest Monsoon conditions prevailed over the ASEAN region in June 2020. The prevailing winds in the region generally blew from the southeast or southwest. While the traditional dry season of the southern ASEAN region typically starts in June, during the review period, there have been persistent and widepread showers over the southern ASEAN region brought about by the close proximity of the monsoon rain band. The prevailing wet conditions over the Mekong sub-region during this period is typical of the traditional rainy season associated with the Southwest Monsoon of the northern ASEAN region.
1.2 2. In Jun 2020, the number of hotspots detected in both the northern and southern ASEAN region remained generally subdued due to rainy weather. In particular, the total number of hotspots detected in the southern ASEAN region for Jun 2020 was the lowest ever recorded since year 2013.
1.3 While hotspot activities in the region remained subdued, isoted hotspots were still detected in parts of Viet Nam and Sumatra on some days. Localised smoke plumes were observed to emanate from some hotspots in Riau, Sumatra and Central Kalimantan. These hotspots however were short-lived and did not contribute to any significant smoke haze.
1.4 In June 2020, the fire intensity of hotspots detected across the region was low. There was no significant smoke haze observed based on satellite imageries and ground reports.
