Fire hot spots and scant rain raise haze alarm in South-east Asia
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Forest and land fires, and the choking haze they cause, are a near-annual problem across South-east Asia.
PHOTO: AFP
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SINGAPORE – The number of fire hot spots across Indonesia and Malaysia is at the highest in seven years, raising the risk of severe haze conditions across the region in the coming months.
There were 825 smouldering hot spots in March across key oil-palm growing regions of the two countries, according to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre.
The agency looked at satellite imagery which can detect heightened levels of infrared radiation. A fire detection algorithm then parsed the dataset to identify the points associated with a blaze.
Forest and land fires, and the choking haze they cause, are a near-annual problem across South-east Asia, disrupting tourism, causing respiratory illnesses, and costing local economies billions of dollars.
The most severe crisis in recent memory was in 2015, when widespread fires triggered a regional haze emergency, causing US$16 billion (S$20.64 billion) in damage, leading to school closures, flight disruptions and sparking diplomatic tensions between neighbouring countries.
Dryness in 2026 could lead to a similar scenario, forecasters warn.
The fires can occur naturally or result from land clearance for various crops.
In Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s biggest producers of palm oil, large swathes of wild vegetation are set ablaze to make room for new plantations.
While both countries ban the use of fire to clear and manage acreage, enforcement has been challenging. The issue is often most acute during the dry season, typically from April to September, when peatlands become highly flammable and fires can smoulder underground for weeks, making them difficult to detect and extinguish.
In Malaysia, the northern part of the Johor state as well as Sarawak and parts of Sabah have seen below-normal rainfall throughout March, according to the US Climate Prediction Center. Sarawak in particular has seen unseasonal dryness, with some areas seeing precipitation levels as much as 210mm below normal, data from the centre showed.
Indonesia is also experiencing drought, with vast stretches of Sumatra as well as west and central Kalimantan recording below-normal rainfall, data showed. Arid conditions may persist for some of those areas in the coming weeks and months, according to seasonal outlooks from a major European forecasting centre.
Below-normal rainfall is expected across much of Malaysia and parts of Indonesia’s Kalimantan in April. While May is set to bring more seasonal rainfall, June to August are very likely to be drier than normal across maritime South-east Asia. BLOOMBERG
