Malaysia ready to help put out Indonesian forest fires, says minister
Malaysia ready to help put out Indonesian forest fires, says minister
30 July 2017
published by http://www.themalaymailonline.com
Malaysia / Indonesia – KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 Malaysia is ready to send firefighters to Indonesia to help put out forest fires in the republic.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the government was seriously concerned about the problem which could cause haze and was ready to provide assistance at any time.
I have discussed it with Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who is in charge of the Fire Department and the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) and he has given the assurance that they are ready at any time, he told reporters when met at the SMART Tunnel Run 2017 here today.
Recently, Indonesias Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) warned of an increase in forest fire threats due the ongoing drought in the country that was expected to worsen, but some hots pots have already been detected in Aceh causing the area to experience haze.
However, the Indonesian Peat Soil Recovery Agency has reportedly given assurance that neighbours like Malaysia and Singapore would not be experiencing haze as it had already taken steps to halt forest fires.
Following his meeting with governors of Riau and Jambi, Wan Junaidi said he was planning to meet with the governor of Acheh next, to discuss the matter.
Earlier, Wan Junaidi had flagged off about 1,800 runners who took part in the SMART Tunnel Run 2017, organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment through the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, which was held in conjunction with the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the department and the 10th anniversary of the operation of the SMART tunnel.
The 9.7km storm water management and road tunnel project (SMART), opened in June 2007 is a dual-use tunnel aimed at mitigating floods in the federal capital by diverting 1.16 million cubic metres of waters in the event of continuous heavy rain for three hours, as well as to ease traffic congestion.
As of July 15, a total of 299 flash floods in the capital had been diverted from flooding the city centre.
Among the almost flood-free areas in the capital, due to the SMART tunnel, are the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Dataran Merdeka, Jalan Munsyi Abdullah, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kampung Baru, Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan P. Ramlee. Bernama
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An international team of climate researchers from the US, South Korea and the UK has developed a new wildfire and drought prediction model for southwestern North America. Extending far beyond the current seasonal forecast, this study published in the journal Scientific Reports could benefit the economies with a variety of applications in agriculture, water management and forestry.
Over the past 15 years, California and neighboring regions have experienced heighteneddrought conditions and an increase inwildfire numbers with considerable impacts on human livelihoods, agriculture, and terrestrial ecosystems. This new research shows that in addition to a discernible contribution from natural forcings and human-induced global warming, the large-scale difference between Atlantic and Pacific ocean temperatures plays a fundamental role in causing droughts, and enhancing wildfire risks.
“Our results document that a combination of processes is at work. Through an ensemble modeling approach, we were able to show that without anthropogenic effects, the droughts in the southwestern United States would have been less severe,” says co-author Axel Timmermann, Director of the newly founded IBS Center for Climate Physics, within the Institute for Basics Science (IBS), and Distinguished Professor at Pusan National University in South Korea. “By prescribing the effects of man-made climate change and observed global ocean temperatures, our model can reproduce the observed shifts in weather patterns and wildfire occurrences.”
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-atlanticpacific-ocean-temperature-difference-fuels.html#jCpAn international team of climate researchers from the US, South Korea and the UK has developed a new wildfire and drought prediction model for southwestern North America. Extending far beyond the current seasonal forecast, this study published in the journal Scientific Reports could benefit the economies with a variety of applications in agriculture, water management and forestry.
Over the past 15 years, California and neighboring regions have experienced heighteneddrought conditions and an increase inwildfire numbers with considerable impacts on human livelihoods, agriculture, and terrestrial ecosystems. This new research shows that in addition to a discernible contribution from natural forcings and human-induced global warming, the large-scale difference between Atlantic and Pacific ocean temperatures plays a fundamental role in causing droughts, and enhancing wildfire risks.
“Our results document that a combination of processes is at work. Through an ensemble modeling approach, we were able to show that without anthropogenic effects, the droughts in the southwestern United States would have been less severe,” says co-author Axel Timmermann, Director of the newly founded IBS Center for Climate Physics, within the Institute for Basics Science (IBS), and Distinguished Professor at Pusan National University in South Korea. “By prescribing the effects of man-made climate change and observed global ocean temperatures, our model can reproduce the observed shifts in weather patterns and wildfire occurrences.”
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-atlanticpacific-ocean-temperature-difference-fuels.html#jCp
