GFMC: Meterological Conditions and Fire in South East Asia
SouthEast Asia
RegularFire and Weather Update
02 July 2004
HAZE WATCH – 2 July 2004
July 02, 2004
ASEAN Secretariat as the Interim ASEAN Coordinating Centre – The report is compiled by ASEAN Secretariat based on feedback from the relevant ASEAN member countries and will be updated on a daily basis during this critical period –
Report of Current Situation
The latest hotspot map available (1 July) indicates scattered thunderstorms affected most of Sumatra while isolated showers affected western Kalimantan. Four (4) hotspots were detected in northern Sumatra by NOAA 12 satellite (09.58 UTC). These fires were located in Simalungun and Toba Samosir districts. No hotspots were detected in Kalimantan.
The recent Southeast Asia Fire Danger Rating System maps (dated 1 July) produced by Malaysian Meteorological Service (interpretation by ASEAN Secretariat) shows all fine fuels will ignite potentially resulting in many fires in almost all parts of Kalimantan. The general fire danger map indicates that in mixed fuels, severe drought conditions could cause high-intensity fires in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. Both moderate- and high-intensity fires can be very common in other parts of Kalimantan.
The air quality condition in Pekanbaru, Riau Province of Indonesia was almost similar to yesterdays condition with visibility of 3 to 10 km. The air quality condition in Pontianak, West Kalimantan was slightly similar to yesterdays condition (still hazy, at hazardous level). The visibility was about 1.5-10 km. Visibility in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan was around 8 to 11 km.
Malaysia is currently experiencing good to moderate air quality condition. Several hotspots detected in the country are being investigated. Fires detected in few areas in Sarawak have been extinguished completely. Firefighting in two areas, Sibu and Bintulu, are ongoing. Fires were detected in bush and plantation areas. Situation is well under control and the effect is localised. Most stations in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak have recorded good to moderate air quality conditions. No stations have recorded unhealthy air quality condition. Rainfall is likely in East Malaysia and some showers are expected in Peninsular Malaysia tomorrow.
Singapores air quality improved to 32, which is within the good range. Visibility in two airports is around 10 km. Rainfall is likely based on the three-day outlook. So far, there has not been any significant haze impact to Singapore.
Resources Mobilised and Actions Taken
The Provincial Government of Riau and the One Roof Mechanism team (comprising Ministry of Environment, National Police Department and General Attorney of Indonesia) are preparing a law suit to 10 companies suspected of doing open burning. Manggala Agni Fire Brigade and Health Agency in Riau are still monitoring the situation closely to anticipate any possible damages/problems.
Manggala Agni Fire Brigade of West Kalimantan has been mobilised to suppress the fires. They have also conducted ground checking to confirm the hotspot data with the actual situation on the ground.
PUSDALKARHUTLA (Coordinating Centre for Land and Forest Fire Control) of West Kalimantan has mobilised a team to Bengkayang district to do ground checking of fires, detected by NOAA satellite early this week. The fires mostly occurred in plantation areas.
Aerial and ground surveillance are being carried out in Malaysia. Actions have been taken to put out the fires and legal provisions have been enforced. Department of Environment of Malaysia continues to monitor the situation.
Singapore continuously provides updated information on the air quality to the public. ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre continues to provide satellite information on hotspots and smoke haze in Sumatra and Kalimantan to Ministry of Environment of Indonesia, Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia and the governments of Riau and Jambi Provinces.
A meeting of Subregional Firefighting Arrangement (SRFA) countries Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore is being scheduled to be held in Singapore. Consultations are being held among the countries to confirm the dates.
Friday, 2 July 2004
ASEAN Secretariat
Interim ASEAN Coordinating Centre
Source: www.haze-online.or.id
Hotspot activities decrease in Sumatra
28 June
30 June
01 July
Source: Meteorological Division of the Singapore National Environment Agency
For recent satellite scenes, photographs and background information see:
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A selection of various smoke-haze articles (published by www.haze-online.or.id, 01 July 2004)
I. Monitoring of Smoke-Haze and Active Fires (land-use fires and wildfires)
Regional Smoke-Haze Monitoring
The Meteorological Division of the Singapore National Environment Agency provides a daily updated map showing active fires (land-use fires, wildfires), smoke haze and surface wind directions within the South East Asian region.
Latest map of surfacewinds and smoke haze/hot spots observed over cloud-free areas.
(Source: http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1195)
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Latest regional active fire (hotspot) maps:
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1674 -
Forecast of winds and surface pressure for the South East Asian Region:
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1122 - Other Regional NOAA and GOES Satellite Images:
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/category_sub.asp?cid=59 - Update of Regional Weather and Smoke Haze for the last Month:
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1196
Fire Activity Monitoring in Borneo (Kalimantan, Sabah, Sarawak)
The Integrated Forest Fire Management Project (IFFM) in Samarinda provides regulary updatedmaps generated by NOAA-AVHRR showing active land-use fires and wildfires inBrunei and the Indonesian and Malaysian provinces on BorneoIsland.
Latest fire overview map for Borneo: 28 June 2004
(Source: IFFM FireMaps)
Fire Activity Monitoring in South Sumatra
The South Sumatra Forest Fire Management Project provides regular fire activity maps based on the products of the MODIS Rapid Response System: http://www.ssffmp.or.id/ssffmp/fwi-2.asp?id=2
Fire Activity Monitoring in Mainland SE Asia
The Asia Pacific Network for Disaster Mitigation using Earth ObservationSatellite (ANDES) provides daily fire maps of mainland and insular South EastAsia. The latest maps can be accessed through the ANDES website. The map below shows the last fire map of mainland SE Asia(Thailand, Myanmar, Lao, Cambodia, Viet Nam).
LastANDESfire location map of mainland South East Asia.
The map is generated on the basis of two satellite sensors (NOOA-AVHRR,DMSP/OLS).
Source: ANDES
II. Fire Weather and Fire Danger Monitoring and Early Warning
Regional Fire Weather
The Regional South East Asia Fire Danger Rating System (SEA FDRS) is a joint effort between the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) and the Malaysian Meteorological Service (MMS), supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Daily updated SEA Fire Danger Rating can be downloaded on the following website of MMS, and background information on the project can be found at the SEA FDRS Project website.
Latest example of a SEA FDRS product:
The Fire Weather Index (FWI) values shown on the map are numerical ratings offire intensity.
Information from the Initial Spread Index (ISI) and Build Up Index (BUI) iscombined to provide a numerical rating of fire intensity.
This index is used to indicate the difficulty of fire control based on the headfire intensity and fire fighting capability.
The GFMC displays selected and daily updated global andAsia-Pacific ExperimentalClimate Prediction Center (ECPC) Fire Weather Forecasts.These examples allow a quicklook and provide daily and weekly total forecastsand forecasted monthly totals. For background information refer to the ECPCproducts description page.
tomorrow week monthly
Fire Weather Index (FWI) forecast for thisweek (left) and the predictedFWI total for next month (right)
for the Western Pacific (1-3) and the PacificOcean (4-6) regions.
The weekly total forecast and the monthly forecasted total refer to 00:00 hrsUTC,which is local noon at dateline (180° longitude).
Forecast time is 12:00 hrsnoon UTC (Greenwich)corresponding to local evening time in mainland and insular SE Asia.
(Source: ECPCFire Weather Index Forecast)
Fire Weather in East Kalimantan
Based on data from six weather stations (Indonesian Meterological Service) the following Fire Danger situation has been determined by the Integrated Forest Fire Management Project (IFFM):
Fire Danger Rating for East Kalimantan generally is MODERATE.
– No Hotspot Detected during this week.
– No Land or Forest fire occurences reported by District/municipalities
– The Readiness Level for East Kalimantan is NORMAL.
For more detailed information, see also: Fire situation report of EastKalimantan (17 February 2004), compiled and analyzed by the Provincial Fire Management Center, Samarinda.The complete (detailed) report willbe sent on request. Contact: uptd_pkhl@samarinda.org
Fire Weather in South Sumatra
The South Sumatra Forest Fire Management Project provides regular fire weather updates: http://www.ssffmp.or.id/ssffmp/fwi.asp
Fire Early Warning Bulletin for South East Asia
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Project Fire Fight Southeast Asia (PFFSEA) have launched the Fire Bulletin, a weekly analyses and information on fire, haze, and related issues in Indonesia.
III. Further information:
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The ASEAN Haze Action Online provides the following information:
- Monitoring: Hyperlinks to institutions involved in regional monitoring and prediction of fire and smoke haze
- Haze News: ASEAN Transboundary Haze Update (updated daily)
- Intranet: Information and possible participation in the ASEAN Haze Action Online Intranet Information Services (for associated registered participants)
- Mobilization Plan: Model Fire Suppression Mobilization Plan
- Inventory: Inventory and analysis of forest and land fire suppression capabilities
- Haze Forum: Communication platform on fire and smoke-haze issues in the ASEAN region
- Calendar: Fire and haze-related events can be identified by a search modus
- Media Highlights on Fire, Policies, and Politics
