ASEAN Secretariat - The report is compiled by the ASEAN Secretariat based on feedback from relevant ASEAN Member Countries and will be updated on a regular basis.


Report of Current Situation

Many hot spots with smoke haze were detected over southern Sumatra and Kalimantan.

In Brunei Darussalam, on 4 September yesterday there was one (1) reported incidence of short-lived bush fires affecting 0.01 hectare of land. The air quality was good, with PSI below 50. There was no report from the Meteorological Department.

In Indonesia, hotspots detected by NOAA 12 are shown in the following table:

Hotspots still occurred in Borneo and Sumatra . There were hotspots which were scattered in South Sumatera, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan . Hotspots were also detected in Bangka Belitung, Lampung and Jambi. There was thick smoke haze in Kalimantan . Fires occurred mostly in abandoned ex plantation areas and peatlands. Most fires were in inaccessible areas and water sources were difficult to find. LAPAN predicted that Indonesia is in dry season. Cloud seeding operation in West Kalimantan , in particular in Ketapang district, has failed. Fires still occurred in this area. Visibility in Pontianak , West Kalimantan was 1.5km.


The distribution of hotspots in Indonesia is shown in the following table:

In Malaysia, on 4 September 2006, NOAA 12 detected 1 hotspot in the state of Johor and Sarawak , respectively. As of 11.00 am today (5 September 2006), 27 stations recorded good air quality level and 23 stations recorded moderate level. None of the stations recorded unhealthy air quality status .

Visibility readings in fair weather in most areas in Peninsular Malaysia were more than 10km, except in Temerloh and Malacca where the readings were between 7 and 8 km. In Sarawak , the visibility in the western parts remained below 10km. In Kuching the visibility was 4km, whereas in Bintulu and Sri Aman, 6km. Other areas including Sabah , the visibility was more than 10km.

No fires were detected in Singapore. PSI reading was within good level (49). Visibility in both Singapore Changi Airport and Seletar Airport was 10km.

Based on FDRS reading, all fine fuels will easily ignite, potentially resulting in many fires in Thailand, parts of Lao PDR, parts of Viet Nam, parts of southern Sumatra and parts of Borneo. In mixed fuels, severe drought conditions and high-intensify fires can occur in parts of southern Sumatra. Moderate intensity fires can occur in most parts of Thailand, parts of Lao PDR and parts of Borneo. Peat areas will produce widespread and severe haze from deep and long-burning fires in parts of southern Viet Nam and parts of southern Sumatra. Drought conditions in peat areas and high-intensity fires are possible in parts of southern Sumatra and parts of southern Borneo. Smouldering in drained peat areas are possible in Thailand, Lao PDR, parts of Viet Nam, Peninsular Malaysia, most parts of Sumatra and parts of Borneo.


Resources Mobilised and Actions Taken

Department of Environment Parks and Recreation of Brunei Darussalam continues its role in monitoring the air quality. Fire Service Department of Brunei Darussalam also continues conducting air and ground surveillance for any fire incidence. Department of Civil Aviation of Brunei Darussalam also continues in providing information on weather situation.

Ministry of Environment of Indonesia is investigating 7 companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan; i.e. 4 companies in Riau, 2 companies in West Kalimantan and 1 company in North Sumatera. The Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) continues to provide information on weather situation and fire danger information.

All DoE State Offices of Malaysia have been directed to intensify enforcement actions against open burning activities since 13 June 2006 in view of the beginning of the dry season. Aerial and ground surveillance are intensified to curb open burning activities in Malaysia throughout the country and all hotspot detected will be verified accordingly. The Air Division of DoE and the Central Forecast Office of Malaysia Meteorological Department (MMD) continue to remain vigilance and closely monitor the API readings, visibility and the weather conditions. In view of high number of hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan, as well as the south-westerly monsoon, two meetings of the Working Group on Haze Action were held in early July and middle of August to prepare for the necessary local actions as well as to respond to the Level 2 & 3 Alert issued by the Interim ACC. DoE of Malaysia continues to disseminate daily information on current situation related to air quality to the public through mass media. The public in Malaysia can submit their open burning complaints to Department of Environment (DoE) through toll free – JASLINE (1-800-88-2727).

In Singapore, an Inter-Ministry Haze Task Force Meeting was held on 19 May 2006 to update members on the regional weather and haze situation and assessment for the next few months. A team of 4 officers from NEA made a fact finding trip to Pelalawan, Rokan Hilir and Bengkalis on 19-22 Jun 2006 to review the ground situation in order to ascertain the technical requirements for the air and weather monitoring stations. This is arising from a request made by Indonesia for Singapore to assist in setting up air and weather monitoring stations in the 3 districts, at a bilateral forum in May 2006 in Bogor, Indonesia.

Singapore convened a media briefing to update on the latest weather and haze situation in the region on 19 July 2006. Following the Interim ACC's activation of the Level 3 Alert on 7 August 2006, an NEA officer representing Singapore participated as a member of the Panel of ASEAN Experts to assess the ground fire situation in Riau, Indonesia.