SPOT Satellite Images of Forest/Plantation Fires and Smoke Haze over Southeast Asia


Fires and Smoke Haze Near Banjarmasin, Kalimantan.
Location map shows the eastern part of Kalimantan. The yellow box indicate the position of the image. Click on the images for enlarged views.


6 June 1997

Barito River cuts through the image from north to south. West of the river, irrigation channels show up as a grid of pale green lines, enclosing a large plantation. Areas which are covered with healthy vegetation show up in red or pink, while bare soil or sparsely vegetated areas show up in various shades of green. The white patches are cumulus clouds, each casting a shadow below it.
The image shown covers about 40km by 30km.

Image size : 450 X 315 pixels (18K)
Enlarged view : 80K
29 July 1997

Many smoke plumes rise from burning vegetation in the plantation area. A few smoke plumes can also be seen to the east of the river, which could be fires started by small farmers or spontaneous bush fires. Large extent of the red/pink areas in the previous image have turned dark green, the result of burning in the two month period.

Image size : 450 X 315 pixels (14K)
Enlarged view : 66K
7 August 1997

Burning intensifies and the area west of Barito River is now shrouded in smoke haze.

Image size : 450 X 315 pixels (10K)
Enlarged view : 37K
28 August 1997

The whole area is now obscured by dense smoke haze. Through the thick haze, we can see that nearly all the vegetation in the plantation and near the river has been burnt.

Image size : 450 X 315 pixels (9K)
Enlarged view : 27K
8 September 1997

The smoke haze has lifted on this day, offering a temporary reprieve and revealing the extent of damages done. Systematic land-clearing by fire is however still in progress.

Image size : 450 X 315 pixels (15K)
Enlarged view : 69K


All images are acquired by the SPOT satellites.
Copyright of images belongs to CNES.
Images are acquired and processed by the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing, National University of Singapore.