GFMC: Meterological Conditions and Fire in South East Asia
SouthEast Asia
RegularFire and Weather Update
04 April 2005
Latest satellite images:
Aqua satellite
04 April 2005
07:10 UTC
Aqua satellite
04 April 2005
05:30 UTC
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Southeast Asia
Dense smoke lingers over Southeast Asia in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image, collected on March 30, 2005, by NASAs Terra satellite. It is currently the dry season, a time when fire is common in Southeast Asia. Though several fires, marked with red dots, were detected when Terra flew over in the morning, the majority of the smoke was probably generated the previous day. During the day, hundreds of fires are set, so that by the time the MODIS sensor on NASAs Aqua satellite flew over in the early afternoon on March 30, the landscape was covered with fire.
In 2005, severe drought dried the vegetation throughout Southeast Asia, making the region more prone to fire. The effect of the widespread fires on air quality is clearly visible in this image. The heavy grey smoke settles in the valleys of northern Laos and Thailand, and blankets sections of Myanmar and Vietnam.
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC.
See also earlier comprehensive daily GFMC updates of the same region:
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15 March 2005: Brunei: Seria Bypass Still Closed As Firemen Battle Peat Fires
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14 March 2005: Brunei: Haze in Belait
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11 March 2005: https://gfmc.online/media/2005/news_20050311_ind.htm
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06 January 2005: https://gfmc.online/gfmcnew/2005/02/0206/20050206_sea.htm
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28 June 2004: https://gfmc.online/gfmcnew/2004/0628/20040628_sea.htm
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GFMC / IFFN publication of CRISP: https://gfmc.online/iffn/country/sg/sg_4.htm
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
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Forecast of winds and surface pressure for the South East Asian Region :
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1122
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
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: 15 December 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
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.
Information on the Indonesian Fire Danger Rating System (Indonesian FDRS) is provided by the Indonesian Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics (BMG) in Jakarta. The site provides information for fire managers working to prevent and control vegetation fires and smoke in Indonesia. This link points to the English version; a Bahasa Indonesian version can be found there as well: http://www.bmg.go.id:8080/fdrs/index_e.html.
The GFMC displays selected and daily updated global andAsia-Pacific Experimental Climate 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)
III. Further information:
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The ASEAN Haze Action Online provides the following information:
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Monitoring: Hyperlinks to institutions involved in regional monitoring and prediction of fire and smoke haze
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Haze News: ASEAN Transboundary Haze Update (updated daily)
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Intranet: Information and possible participation in the ASEAN Haze Action Online Intranet Information Services (for associated registered participants)
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Mobilization Plan: Model Fire Suppression Mobilization Plan
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Inventory: Inventory and analysis of forest and land fire suppression capabilities
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Haze Forum: Communication platform on fire and smoke-haze issues in the ASEAN region
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Calendar: Fire and haze-related events can be identified by a search modus
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