SINGAPORE: The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) issued a “Level 1” alert on Thursday (Jan 2), warning of hotspots and haze in northern Southeast Asia as the dry season begins in the region.
The centre said in a media release that it had observed dry conditions over most parts of the Mekong sub-region as the northeast monsoon becomes “established”.
The hotspot and haze situation over the sub-region may worsen in the next few months under prolonged dry weather conditions during the season, it added.
The regional meteorological centre also noted a gradual rise in the hotspot count in the sub-region since mid-December. It recorded a jump in the number of hotspots between Dec 31 and Jan 1, from 164 hotspots to 335 respectively.
While it detected some localised smoke plumes or haze in parts of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, it said that there has been no transboundary smoke haze so far.
The Mekong sub-region also includes Myanmar, Vietnam and parts of China.
ASMC added that it expects neutral or short-lived La Nina conditions at the start of 2025, which could bring about wetter-than-average weather over some parts of Southeast Asia.
“However, its effects on rainfall may not be pronounced over the Mekong sub-region and there may still be a risk of escalated hotspot activities and transboundary smoke haze in the sub-region,” it said.
