GFMC: Meterological Conditions and Fire in South East Asia
SouthEast Asia
RegularFire and Weather Update
08 March 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)
-
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
Nasa’s Earth Observatory, retrospectively analyzed the outflow of air pollution from China and southeastAsia during February 2004. The following false-color image shows concentrations of carbon monoxide at an altitude of roughly 3 km (700 millibars) in the atmosphere over eastern China blowing eastward off the coast of Asia and out over the Pacific Ocean. Carbon monoxide is a good indicator of this pollution since it is produced during combustion processes such as the burning of fossil fuels in urban and industrial areas as well as by wildfires and biomassburning.
Over China, industrial emissions are mainly responsible for the high levels of carbon monoxide observed in the image, whereas the emissions in South-East Asia are due to agriculturalfires. The Asian plume can be followed as it propagates out over the Pacific Ocean, and in some instances this plume reaches the west coast of the UnitedStates.
The above image represents a composite of data collected over a 25-day period, from February 1-25, 2004, by the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument aboard NASAs Terra satellite. The colors represent the mixing ratios of carbon monoxide in the air, given in parts per billion by volume. The grey areas show where no data were collected due to persistent cloud cover.
The image above corresponds well with true-color images captured over the region by the SeaWiFS and Aqua MODIS instruments on February 15 and February19, 2004.
Image courtesy NCAR and University of Toronto MOPITT Science Teams
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.
sorry, no updated map available
Latest fire overview map for Borneo
(Source: IFFM FireMaps)
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
Fires burning in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodscha and Vietnam are seen in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on 06 March 2004. The widespread nature of the fires and their location (generally located away from the remaining tracts of forest, which appear dark green) suggests that these fires are being set intentionally for agricultural purposes.
Aqua satellite
06 March 2004
06:30 hrs UTC
(Image courtesy MODIS)
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 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:
- Haze Prevention Group
The industrial initiative to combat haze in SE Asia provides a website which includes information about the objectives of this industrial initiative and projects implemented to reduce wildfires and haze in Indonesia. -
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
