Atmospheric impacts of Indonesian fire emissions: Assessing Remote Sensing Data and Air Quality During 2013 Malaysian Haze

The 2013 Malaysian haze event coincided temporally with rising trends of hotspots detected in Sumatra, Indonesia. Based on satellite remote sensing, air quality data and wind vector maps, our study aims to provide a preliminary assessment on the remote effects of Indonesian forest fires on the Malaysian haze. In order to locate and detect the occurrence of active fires in Sumatra, MODIS Active Fire Data was retrieved from NASA/LANCE – FIRMS for satellite imagery and analysis. Air quality at Petaling Jaya was assessed based on PM10 concentration and meteorological data provided by the Malaysian Meteorological Department. Wind vector maps for the Indian Pacific region were constructed with the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Product developed by NOAA-ESRL. In June, southwesterlies prevailed in the region and brought substantial amounts of particulate matter from Sumatra to Peninsular Malaysia, with Petaling Jaya being one of the most severely inflicted cities.