REVIEW OF REGIONAL HAZE SITUATION IN ASEAN REGION (March 2023)
In March 2023, the ASEAN region continued to experience Northeast Monsoon conditions. The dry conditions over the Mekong sub-region and northern Philippines persisted while wet conditions were observed elsewhere in the ASEAN region.
The hotspot counts in the Mekong sub-region were higher or comparable to previous years under the extended dry conditions. In particular, the highest hotspot activity was detected in Lao PDR with the highest hotspot counts recorded in 5 years. For the southern ASEAN region, hotspot activity remained generally subdued.
With the deteriorating hotspots and haze situation, Alert Level 3 was issued for the Mekong sub-region on 2 Mar 2023. Number of days with moderate to dense smoke haze observed in March 2023.
