{News} 080801 Sumatra hot spots spell hazy days ahead

Sumatra hot spots spell hazy days ahead
Dry weather and fires burning in Indonesia are bad news for S'pore

The Straits Times, Aug 1, 2008
By Salim Osman, Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta and Tania Tan
IN SINGAPORE/IN JAKARTA - SINGAPORE'S 43rd birthday next week may be a hazy one.
Dry spells in parts of neighbouring Indonesia have led to fires flaring up in north and central Sumatra, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).


Over 350 hotspots were detected on Friday, up from about 300 the day before.
While still a long way from the 8,000 hotspots recorded in 2006, during Singapore's worst recent episode of haze, 'this is probably just the beginning', said Mr Chia Aik Song.
The associate scientist with the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing from the National University of Singapore added: 'If the weather continues, then we may have a problem.'
According to NEA, the forecast for the next two weeks is more dry weather. So expect more hot spots in Sumatra. And depending on the wind direction, the acrid pall could be headed this way.
'If fires occur in forest and plantation land in Sumatra next week, you can expect the wind to blow the smoke towards Malaysia and Singapore,' said Mr Blucher Doloksaribu, weather analyst from Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics agency (BMG).


More fires are expected this month in Indonesia as the peak of the dry season coincides with farmers and plantation workers stepping up their land clearing activities, warn weathermen and environmentalists in Indonesia.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_263506.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

{News} 080804 Haze returns to region as Sumatra's illegal fires rage

Haze returns to region as Sumatra's illegal fires rage The Straits Times, Aug 4, 2008 Despite fire-fighting efforts, visibility just 2km in Riau; air over Malaysia worsens By Teo Cheng Wee, In Kuala Lumpur and Salim Osman, Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta HAZE shrouded parts of the region yesterday after fires scorched forest and plantation land in Sumatra over the weekend, enveloping the Riau capital of Pekanbaru and parts of Peninsular Malaysia. The authorities have squarely blamed Indonesian farmers and plantation workers, who are clearing the land using slash-and-burn methods that have been banned since 1999. The number of hot spots in Sumatra surged from 351 to 531 on Saturday, before dipping to 360 yesterday, according to the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG). This was confirmed by Singapore's National Environment Agency. BMG analyst Selamat Triyadi told The Straits Times that Riau alone accounted for some 136 hot spots, while Pelalawan and Rokan Hulu h
Read more

{Paper} 081116! Recent intensification of tropical climate variability in the Indian Ocean

Recent intensification of tropical climate variability in the Indian Ocean Nature Geoscience Published online: 16 November 2008 doi:10.1038/ngeo357 Nerilie J. Abram 1 , 2 , Michael K. Gagan 1 , Julia E. Cole 3 , Wahyoe S. Hantoro 4 & Manfred Mudelsee 5 The interplay of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, Asian monsoon and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) 1, 2, 3 drives climatic extremes in and around the Indian Ocean. Historical 4, 5 and proxy 6, 7, 8, 9 records reveal changes in the behaviour of the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Asian monsoon over recent decades 10, 11, 12 . However, reliable instrumental records of the IOD cover only the past 50 years 1, 3 , and there is no consensus on long-term variability of the IOD or its possible response to greenhouse gas forcing 13 . Here we use a suite of coral oxygen-isotope records to reconstruct a basin-wide index of IOD behaviour since AD 1846. Our record reveals an increase in the frequency and strength of IOD events during the tw
Read more