Currently, most parts of Indonesia and some other countries in the ASEAN have experienced the Australian monsoon, characterized by dry winds that blow from the southeast.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Australian monsoon can make parts of Southeast Asia prone to fires in the next week, according to the Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS) early warning system.

The land fire potential was detected in Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and some small parts of Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos on Aug 6-8, it stated.

"Currently, most parts of Indonesia and some other countries in the ASEAN have experienced the Australian monsoon, characterized by dry winds that blow from the southeast," Deputy for Meteorology of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Mulyono R. Prabowo stated here on Wednesday.

The weather is also affected by the anomaly of sea surface temperature in the Indonesian waters, especially on the south side of the equator; weak intensity of the El Nino phenomenon that hit the region since the end of 2018; and the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode.

This has triggered a drier season in 2019 than that in 2018, he stated.

"The dry condition was followed by the emergence of hotspots that can be indicative of land and forest fires. It will produce haze and deteriorate the air quality. Hence, we need to increase awareness and prepare measures to minimize the impact," he elaborated.

FDRS is a system that monitors the risk of forest and vegetation fires and supplies information that assists in fire management.

The products of FDRS can be used to forecast fire behavior and can serve as a guide for policymakers in developing actions to protect life, property, and the environment.

The FDRS for Southeast Asia was developed based on the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System.

The meteorological variables used that include temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and wind speed, are those measured at meteorological stations across the Southeast Asian region that are made available on the Global Telecommunication System. Spatial Analysis is conducted using the ArcView software.

The FDRS for Southeast Asia is managed by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia). Related news: Jokowi chairs meeting to tackle forest fires

Related news: Satellites identify 152 hotspots on Sumatra Island

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Translator: Desi Purnamawati, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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