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 . A layer of smoke haze was also seen over Kalimantan.

In Brunei Darussalam, from 2 September to 3 September yesterday, there was one (1) fire reported. There was no report from Meteorological Department.

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

From 1 to 3 September, hotspots still occurred in Borneo and Sumatra. There were hotspots which were scattered in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Sumatra. Hotspots were detected in Bangka Belitung, Lampung, North Sumatera, Riau and East Kalimantan. There was thick smoke haze in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Fires mostly occurred in abandoned ex plantation areas and peatlands. Most fires were in inaccessible areas and water sources were difficult to find. LAPAN predicted that Indonesia was in dry season. There were 64 houses burnt in South Sumatera, near the peatlands. Fires occurred in Petarangan Mountain in Central Java. PSI reading was within moderate level in Dumai, Riau Province (76). Visibility in Pontianak, West Kalimantan was 800m, while in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan was 3km.


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

On 3 September 2006, NOAA 12 detected 1 hotspot in the State of Pahang. Meanwhile, NOAA 18 detected scattered hotspots in the states of Kedah (1) and Sarawak (2). On 4 September, as of 11.00 a.m., 19 stations recorded good air quality level and 29 stations recorded moderate level. None of the stations recorded unhealthy air quality status. As of 10.00 a.m., in Peninsular Malaysia, the visibility readings in most of the cities were more than 10 km. In Sarawak, the visibility in Kuching was 6 km, while the visibility in Sri Aman, Sibu and Bintulu were 8 km. It was more than 10 km in other areas.

No fires were detected in Singapore. Visibility in both Singapore Changi Airport and Seletar Airport was 10km. 

Based on FDRS reading, all fine fuels will easily ignit, potentially resulting in many fires in parts of Thailand, parts of Lao PDR, Viet Nam, most parts of Sumatra and most parts of Borneo. In mixed fuels, severe drought conditions and high-intensify fires can occur in parts of southern Sumatra. Both moderate- and high-intensity fires can be very common in parts of southern Sumatra. Moderate intensity fires can occur in parts of Thailand, parts of Lao PDR, parts of Viet Nam, parts of Sumatra and parts of Borneo. Peat areas will produce widespread and severe haze from deep and long-burning fires in parts of Viet Nam, parts of southern Sumatra and parts of southern Borneo. 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 quality of air. Fire Service Department of Brunei Darussalam also continues conducting air and ground surveillance for any fires incidence. Department of Civil Aviation of Brunei Darussalam also continues providing information on weather situation.

Ministry of Environment of Indonesia was 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 June 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 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. Singapore sent a letter to Indonesia on 16 August to register their concerns on the fires in Indonesia and the haze in the region.