A few weeks ago the infamous haze plaguing Southeast Asia lifted. The question is whether the haze this year was as bad as the big one in 2015.

Intriguingly, while the overall count of fire alerts in 2019 is lower compared to 2015, observers have remarked on the higher intensity in some areas. Fires have also been appearing in different locations this year, surprising many planters. 

Global Forest Watch reported that 43% of fire alerts between June 2019 and late September 2019 for Indonesia were recorded on peatlands.

Looking at the Kalimantan region, the MODIS alerts (high intensity fires relate to high or 95% confidence (red points), are on peatlands (black shaded areas), particularly in the southern areas.

There are large oil palm and mills zones and areas are affected by alerts. So far Indonesia authorities have a fire law enforcement list of 10.000 hectares, Indonesia wide.

Many fire alerts are also happening outside concession areas and on designated protected lands of Kalimantan (green shaded areas), which is also a great cause for concern.

#Haze #Haze2019 #SoutheastAsia #Indonesia #Kalimantan 

(c) Khor Reports - Segi Enam Advisors Pte Ltd. 2019. All rights reserved.