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 hotspots, smoke plumes, moderate smoke haze were detected in Sumatra . Hotspots and smoke plumes were also detected in Borneo and Sulawesi.

The satellite also detected smoke haze in Kalimantan . Most fires occurred within the abandoned areas of the ex-plantation, and mostly were occurred on peatland. Most fires were inaccessible, and water sources were difficult to find. The visibility in Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Palangka Raya ( Central Kalimantan ) was 1 and 5 km, respectively. Smoke in Sumatra and Kalimantan has disturbed the domestic flight schedule for 3 - 4 hours.

The air qualities in several stations in Riau Province were recorded moderate level, i.e. Rumbai (71), Duri (88) and Dumai (81). One (1) station, i.e. Minas recorded unhealthy air quality (127).

On 24 August 2006 , NOAA 12 detected 11 hotspots in Malaysia which scattered in the states of Sabah (4) and Sarawak (7). Meanwhile NOAA 18 detected hotspots in the states of Kedah (2), Selangor (2), Pahang (1) and Sarawak (1). On 24 August, at 11.00 a.m., 14 stations recorded good air quality level and 36 stations recorded moderate level. None of the stations recorded unhealthy air quality status . As of 10.00 a.m., the visibilities in Sitiawan, Cameron Highlands , Melaka, Batu Embun, Ipoh and Sepang were between 6 and 7 km, while Subang recorded the visibility at 5 km. In Sarawak , the visibilities in Kuching and Bintulu were 2 and 3 km respectively while the visibilities in Sibu, Miri and Limbang were between 6 km and 8 km. It was 9 km and more than 10 km elsewhere.

No fires were detected in Singapore. PSI reading was within good level (38). Visibility in both Changi and Seletar airports was 10km. There are chances of showers in the next two days.

The air quality stations in the southern Thailand , i.e. in Surat Thani, Songkhla, Narathiwat, Satun and Yala recorded good air quality level (23, 49, 50, 22 and 41, respectively); while in Phuket moderate air quality was recorded (57).

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


Resources Mobilised and Actions Taken

The Vice President of Indonesia requested the Riau Government to take legal actions not only to the private companies, but as well as to the communities. As many as 20 people from the communities and companies were arrested by the Government of Riau province. Fire suppression operations by various teams i.e. from the Indonesia Army Brigade (400 personnel), the Masyarakat Anti Api (volunteers from the communities), Forest and Fire Control Task Force (Satlakdarkarhutla) from fire-prone sub districts in Riau Province (Rokan Hilir, Bengkalis, Kampar, and Rokan Hulu), are ongoing at the moment to control current forest and land fires in Riau Province. The Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) continues to provide information on weather situation and fire danger information. Investigation on companies in Riau Province was conducted by the Ministry of Environment. Three (3) oil palm plantations in the districts of Bengkayang, Sambas and Pontianak of West Kalimantan Province are being investigated.

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).

Following the Interim ACC activation of the Level 3 alert on 7 Aug 06, an NEA officer representing Singapore had participated in the Panel of ASEAN Experts to assess the ground fire situation at Riau , Indonesia.