GFMC: Meterological Conditions and Fire in South East Asia
SouthEast Asia
RegularFire and Weather Update
13 October 2006
Fires on Borneo
The fires on Borneo had been burning for several weeks now. During the regional dry season (roughly August-October), fires are common, despite Indonesias efforts to crack down on illegal burning.
This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite from 12 October 2006, shows the haze in the area. The image is a photo-like image, made from MODIS observations of visible light. Smoke appears grayish white in contrast to the bright white of clouds. Fires detected by MODIS are marked in red.
See also current media information on the haze situation in Southeast Asia:
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Five ASEAN Countries To Discuss Forest Fire Air Pollution (published by www.allheadlinenews.com, 11 October 2006)
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Indonesia Apologizes to Its Neighbors for Smoke Haze (published by www.bloomberg.com, 11 October 2006)
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Year round chemical soup does the damage (published by www.malaysiakini.com, 11 October 2006)
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El Nino from Indian Ocean causing haze (published by thestar.com.my, 11 October 2006)
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SE Asia ministers to meet on haze, prayers for rain (published by today.reuters.co.uk, 10 October 2006)
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Indonesian embassy: We regret the smog (published by www.sun2surf.com, 10 October 2006)
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Haze causes not just discomfort, it kills (published by www.malaysiakini.com, 9 October 2006)
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‘No funds, pray for rain’ (published by www.sun2surf.com, 9 October 2006)
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Malaysia urges Indonesia to ratify regional haze agreement (published by www.nst.com.my, 5 October 2006)
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Minister says forest fires should be judged fairly (published by www.antara.co.id, 5 October 2006)
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Asean needs to do more for clean air and health (published by www.bruneitimes.com.bn, 5 October 2006)
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Borneo and Sumatra burn as forest fires rage (published by news.mongabay.com, 4 October 2006)
UNOCHA: Indonesia: Fires and haze OCHA Situation Report No. 2 (published by UNOCHA, 10 October 2006)
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 surface winds 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
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 updated maps generated by NOAA-AVHRR showing active land-use fires and wildfires in Brunei and the Indonesian and Malaysian provinces on Borneo Island (website currently not functioning).
Latest fire overview map for Borneo: 15 December 2004
(Source: IFFM Fire Maps)
Fire Activity Monitoring in South Sumatra
The South Sumatra Forest Fire Management Project (SSFFMP) provides regular fire activity maps based on the products of the MODIS Rapid Response System.
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 of fire intensity.
Information from the Initial Spread Index (ISI) and Build Up Index (BUI) is combined to provide a numerical rating of fire intensity.
This index is used to indicate the difficulty of fire control based on the head fire 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 and Asia-Pacific Experimental Climate Prediction Center (ECPC) Fire Weather Forecasts. These examples allow a quicklook and provide daily and weekly total forecasts and forecasted monthly totals. For background information refer to the ECPC products description page.
tomorrow – week – monthly
Fire Weather Index (FWI) forecast for this week (left) and the predicted FWI total for next month (right)
for the Western Pacific (1-3) and the Pacific Ocean (4-6) regions.
The weekly total forecast and the monthly forecasted total refer to 00:00 hrs UTC, which is local noon at dateline (180° longitude).
Forecast time is 12:00 hrs noon UTC (Greenwich) corresponding to local evening time in mainland and insular SE Asia.
(Source: ECPC Fire Weather Index Forecast)
WWF Fire Bulletin for South East Asia
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has resumed the periodic publication of the Fire Bulleting a weekly 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:
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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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