LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Peatland Fire Weather Conditions in Sumatra, Indonesia

Photo from wikipedia

This study was conducted to identify the fire weather conditions needed to assess future peatland fires under climate change. Recent peatland fires in Indonesia have resulted in globally significant environmental… Click to show full abstract

This study was conducted to identify the fire weather conditions needed to assess future peatland fires under climate change. Recent peatland fires in Indonesia have resulted in globally significant environmental impacts. Nevertheless, fire weather in the peatlands has not been clarified. The objective of this study is to determine the fire weather needed to assess future peatland fires under climate change. We analyzed fire, rainfall, temperature, humidity, and wind in the fire-prone areas in Sumatra. Analysis results using 20 years of satellite hotspot data from 2003 showed that fires in Sumatra occur every other month except December and April when rainfall intensifies. Due to relatively low rainfall, peatland fires in North Sumatra occur not only from January to March (the main dry season), but also around June and August if short-term drought happens. These fire trends may suggest that the peatlands of Sumatra are mostly in a combustible state. Analysis results using diurnal weather data showed that active peatland fires tend to occur under high air temperatures (around above 34 °C), low relative humidity (lower than 50%), and high wind speeds (higher than 18 km h−1). We hope that this report will help improve future peat fire assessments and fire forecasting under rapid climate change.

Keywords: fire; peatland fires; weather conditions; fire weather; peatland

Journal Title: Climate
Year Published: 2023

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.