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

Southern Kalimantan continued to be affected by moderate to thick smoke haze. Some hotspots were also detected in southern Sumatra.

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

In Sumatra, hotspots were detected in South Sumatra (14), Lampung (7), and Bangka Belitung (2). In Kalimantan, hotspots were detected in Central Kalimantan (73), West Kalimantan (5) and South Kalimantan (2). Smoke haze was observed in Borneo . Fires occurred mostly in abandoned ex-plantation areas and peatlands. Most fire locations were inaccessible and water sources were difficult to find. Meteorological Service of South Kalimantan predicted rainy season in South Kalimantan. LAPAN predicted rainfall today in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, North Sumatra, Riau Islands, Lampung, East Kalimantan and Central Papua. Visibility in Pekanbaru was 4km, while in Pontianak 8km.

In Malaysia, on 8 November 2006, NOAA 12 detected 1 hotspot in Pahang. As of 11.00 am today (9 November 2006), 32 stations recorded good air quality level and 19 stations recorded moderate level. None of the stations recorded unhealthy air quality status. At 11.00 am, the visibility readings in most areas were within good range, with readings of more than 10km. No major fire incidents were detected so far.

No fires were detected in Singapore. PSI was within moderate level (53). Visibility in both Singapore Changi Airport and Seletar Airport was between 10km. Showers are very likely in the next 2 days.

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

Resources Mobilised and Actions Taken

In Indonesia, the Russian air planes suppressed fires in Gambut in Banjar District yesterday. Today, the suppression team from the National Coordination Board for the Management of Disaster (Bakornas PB) is going to conduct suppression operation in Kapuas, Central Kalimantan using 1 (one) Russian air plane. Target locations of suppression operation are Kapuas, Pulang Pisau, Kotawaringin Timur, southern part of Kotawaringin Barat, Lamandau, Barito Selatan, Palangkaraya, Gunung Mas, Barito Utara and Murung Raya. The Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) continued to provide information on weather situation and fire danger information. The Meteorological Services continued to provide information on weather situation. Indonesia held the Regional Workshop on Developing Integrated Action Plan on Dealing with Transboundary Haze Pollution on 2 November 2006 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The workshop was held as a follow-up of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Meeting on Transboundary Haze Pollution held in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, Indonesia on 13 October 2006.

In Malaysia, all DoE State Offices 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 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. The public in Malaysia can submit their open burning complaints to Department of Environment (DoE) through toll free – JASLINE (1-800-88-2727).

Singapore has sent Indonesia high-resolution satellite pictures of fire sites to facilitate their fire-fighting efforts on the ground. Following the activation of the Alert Level 3 for Kalimantan and Sumatra on 5 October 2006, the Singapore experts joined the Panel of ASEAN Experts to provide assessment of the fire situation on the ground and completed the mission on 14 October 2006. In Singapore, a press media briefing was conducted on 6 October 2006 to update general public on the haze situation. NEA has started to post the hourly 3-hr PSI on NEA's website since 6 October 2006. Following the unhealthy air quality, NEA also issued health advisories to the public. An Inter-Ministry Haze Task Force Meeting was held on 9 October 2006 to update members on the regional haze situation. Singapore participated in the senior environmental officials meeting and ministerial meeting that were held on 13 October 2006 in Pekanbaru, Riau , Indonesia to discuss regional haze situation and mitigation measures. Singapore also participated at the Regional Workshop on Developing Integrated Plan of Action on Dealing With Transboundary Haze Pollution held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 2 November 2006.