Review of Regional Haze Situation for December 2024
1.1 In December 2024, Northeast monsoon was well established over the ASEAN region as the prevailing low-level winds over most areas north of the Equator blew from the northeast or east except for the northern parts of the Mekong sub-region where the prevailing low-level winds were light and variable in direction. Over the areas south of the Equator, the prevailing low-level winds blew mainly from the west or northwest. (Figure 1).
1.2 Dry conditions were observed over most parts of the Mekong sub-region except for the coastal areas in the southern parts of Viet Nam where showers occurred (Figure 1). Wet weather was observed over rest of the ASEAN region with intense rainfall recorded over southern Thailand and the eastern coastal areas of Peninsular Malaysia (Figure 1). Intense rainfall was also recorded in the eastern parts of the Philippines (Figure 1) under the influence of Tropical Depression Querubin.
1.3 The overall hotspot counts in December 2024 over the ASEAN region were generally lower than or comparable to previous years.
1.4 During the review period, isolated to scattered hotspots were detected in the Mekong sub-region (Figure 4 and 5). While most of the hotspots were short-lived, some were persistent and intense. A few slight localised smoke plumes were also observed to emanate from some hotspots detected in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand (Figure 6). Although a few to isolated hotspots were detected in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the hotspot activities were generally subdued over the southern ASEAN region (Figure 4 and 5).
