Bioclimatic impacts of the 1994 smoke haze event in Southeast Asia

Abstract

A smoke haze event of unprecedented magnitude which occurred in southeast Asia 1994 is statistically evaluated for its impact on regional and global climate using climatic and air quality data from Singapore, and by comparison with the better-known smoke pollution episode resulting from the Kuwait oil fires of 1991. Several local climatic parameters were found to be closely related to air quality on a daily basis. Mean data for the haze period in 1994 appeared to differ significantly from the long-term means for the same period in previous years, with the exception of daily mean air temperature and mean Global Solar Radiation (GSR). The latter is in spite of the inverse relationship between daily GSR and pollution levels. An ENSO-related influence on regional climate (masking some of the perceived regional impacts of the haze) is invoked to explain the apparent contradiction. The significance of the smoke haze at global scale is considered for its impact on the global carbon budget, especially due to the combustion of peat in the coastal lowlands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The scarcity of available ecological data is regretted and recommendations are made for future cooperation over monitoring and research between scientists and government bodies from the countries in the southeast Asian region.