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Fig.1-3 DMSP scenes of East Africa, 22
March 2000.The red dots represent active fires. The center and right fire map show the
area in which the problem fires are currently burning and fire-suppression actions take
place. Land signature: brown; water: blue; clouds: grey; stable lights (cities): cyan.
(Fig.1.: Upper left corner 20°N, 22°E lower right corner 0°N, 50°E; Fig.2 & 3:
Upper left corner 9°N, 38°E lower right corner 5°N, 42°E)
(source: DMSP)
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Fig.4-6 DMSP scenes of East Africa, 23
March 2000.The red dots represent active fires. The center and right fire map show the
area in which the problem fires are currently burning and fire-suppression actions take
place. Land signature: brown; water: blue; clouds: grey; stable lights (cities): cyan.
(Fig.4.: Upper left corner 20°N, 22°E lower right corner 0°N, 50°E; Fig.4 & 6:
Upper left corner 9°N, 38°E lower right corner 5°N, 42°E)
(source: DMSP)
Ethiopia Current Fire Weather Situation and Forecast
Fire Weather Forecast for the Southern Region:
A high pressure ridge in the upper air over the southern continent will gradually force
moisture northwards with a better chance for scattered showers. However there are new
tropical systems to the north of Madagascar that will prohibit fairly general rain.
Tab.1. Addis Abba AREA FORECAST FOR 14H00 Friday 24 March 2000
| 6 Day 14h00 Forecast Ethiopia Region Addis Abba Area | |||||||
| Day | Temp (C) | Hum (%) | W Dir | WSpd (km/h) | Bar (Hpa) | FDI | Tendency |
| Fri 24 | 27 | 65 | NE | 21 | 1007 | 53 Yellow |  |
| Sat 25 | 28 | 61 | NE | 18 | 1005 | 54 Yellow |  |
| Sun 26 | 30 | 57 | NE | 17 | 1007 | 56 Yellow | |
| Mon 27 | 31 | 55 | E | 15 | 1006 | 58 Yellow | |
| Tue 28 | 31 | 54 | ESE | 13 | 1006 | 56 Yellow |  |
| Wed 29 | 32 | 52 | SE | 14 | 1005 | 59 Yellow | |
Tab.2. Goba AREA FORECAST FOR 14H00 Friday 24 March 2000
| 6 Day 14h00 Forecast Ethiopia Region Goba Area | |||||||
| Day | Temp (C) | Hum (%) | W Dir | WSpd (km/h) | Bar (Hpa) | FDI | Tendency |
| Fri 24 | 24 | 68 | NE | 20 | 1010 | 49 Yellow | |
| Sat 25 | 25 | 63 | SE | 15 | 1008 | 48 Yellow | |
| Sun 26 | 26 | 58 | SE | 17 | 1009 | 52 Yellow | |
| Mon 27 | 26 | 55 | SE | 15 | 1007 | 52 Yellow | |
| Tue 28 | 27 | 53 | SE | 13 | 1006 | 52 Yellow | |
| Wed 29 | 28 | 54 | SE | 14 | 1005 | 53 Yellow | |
Source of forecast tables: Net Forecasting (South Africa) on the base of data from the ECMWF (European Center For Medium Range Weather Forecasts) and the U.K.M.O. (United Kingdom Meteorological Office).
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Fig.7. and 8. Fire weather forecast maps
for Ethiopia, 24 and 25 March 2000
(Source: Net Forecasting)
Also available is a three-month rain forecast (starting 26 February 2000). The implications of this forecast are discussed by Net Forecasting.
An Eastern Africa and the Horn Satellite Imagery (NDVI) and rainfall analysis is provided by the USAID Famine Early Warning System.
The Ethiopian National Fire Fighting Committee, supported by the International Fire Emergency Advisory Group, has set up an Incident Command System. The structure of the system is given in the chart (Fig.9).
Fig.9. Structure of the Incident Command System (State: 25 March 2000)
Nationalgeographic / News has published an article which describes the ongoing fires resulting from slash-and-burn practices in Africa and Indonesia with information and imageries from last days GFMC webpages: Slash-and-Burn Agriculture Sparks Devastating Fires (16 March 2000).
For further information (history of the current fire situation, etc.) please refer also to the earlier reports this and last week at the "Current Significant Fire Events" page. Some visual impressions from the currently ongoing fires in Ethiopia and several photographs taken from the Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s with general impression of land cover and fires are also available.