Haze in Singapore and Malaysia

[Cpt Johnny 57]

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[Alejandro24 575]

I don't know how the weather is at these points of the world, but haze is a normal season in the place where I live and the forestal fires causes a lot of problems. But at the start of the rain season all becomes green, so just to keep patient to this and try to avoid any kind of unnecesary fire.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Isn't that due to Mexico's topography?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, we are starting to come to the conclusion that controlled burns in selected areas are needed to keep the meadows open for the wildlife and the general health of the boreal forest.  The policy of no burning at all has turned out to be a bust because of the accumulation of brush and deadwood (fuel) in the forested areas.  Controlled burns prevent widespread wild-fires.  Also, some species of trees need fire to open their seed pods.

 

A recent documentary has shown that the wood bison in the north need burned over and recovered areas to pasture.  If this is not done they browse the areas along the northern highways and are a danger both to themselves and the public.  This is an endangered species making a slow comeback in the northern woods, and they need a period of TLC which includes good forest management including controlled burns.

 

Smog from these short-term fires that are set in the spring usually dissipates quickly.

 

Burning the rain-forest is probably a short-term solution for racial suicide.  The benefits of the rain-forests are far greater than any that could possibly accrue from the kind of farming they do in that part of the world.  After the intensive farming will be a dust bowl.  These farmers probably don't care what happens to the land.  Open field farming is probably not the correct solution for this land, but only a convenience.  These people have been living off the forest for millennia, so why destroy something good to produce something at best mediocre. 

 

Our ancestors made this mistake in North America and the dust bowl of the 1930s was the result.  Consider it a cautionary tale.

[Alejandro24 575]

...

 

Burning the rain-forest is probably a short-term solution for racial suicide.  The benefits of the rain-forests are far greater than any that could possibly accrue from the kind of farming they do in that part of the world.  After the intensive farming will be a dust bowl.  These farmers probably don't care what happens to the land.  Open field farming is probably not the correct solution for this land, but only a convenience.  These people have been living off the forest for millennia, so why destroy something good to produce something at best mediocre. 

 

Our ancestors made this mistake in North America and the dust bowl of the 1930s was the result.  Consider it a cautionary tale.

And not only happened in 1930's, its probably that the mayan civilization collapsed by the same causes.

 

Isn't that due to Mexico's topography?

Yes, a lot of mountains and valleys. But I was thinking in the drought season, not the haze season, the word haze keep stuck in my mind. But anyway, the forestal fires and its haze causes a lot of problems.

[Odainsaker 2,133]

Mexico also traditionally does seasonal agricultural burning of trees and brush for crop land, and the slash-and-burn smoke from as far away as Yucatán gets drawn by winds turning up from the Gulf of Mexico into central Texas.  In Austin and San Antonio, Texas, the resulting smoky haze has a specific and peculiar smell of wet, rotting grass in a gutter, with the wet rottenness probably acquired as the smoke infuses with the humidity rising from the Gulf.  There were widespread smoke and haze warnings last month in Texas resulting from such deliberate burnings, and along with the annoyance of the unpleasant smell, the haze can also burn eyes and aggravate respiratory problems.  I remember one hazy week in Austin years ago when the vegetable sewage smell blowing in with the sun-blocking smoke was so stifling that people downtown scurried from building to building so as to be outdoors for as briefly as possible.

 

I remember decades ago on Oahu in Hawaii when it was time to burn the sugarcane fields, which make up a large component of Hawaii's agricultural industry.  The sugarcane smoke naturally had a distinctly sweet aroma, as if brown sugar or molasses were put on a barbecue.  I'm sure the smoke similarly burned eyes and caused breathing problems, but, to this day I still simply only recall the sweet cooking scent.  Relatives tell me that many of those fields have nowadays become suburban track housing.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Are they under  sever drought conditions there?

[Cpt Johnny 57]

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[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Cloud seeding is a rather desperate measure.  Costly and with very limited results.  Apparently the Gulf of Mexico visited Calgary this week.

[Alejandro24 575]

Today this appeared in one of my suscriptions in Facebook:
 

 

Smoke from Sumatra fires engulfs Singapore.

Air pollution has hit health endangering record highs in Singapore over the last three days, as smoke from peat swamp fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is blown across the seas. The entire city is engulfed in a smoggy haze, as it is every year around this time. The fires are set illegally in the dry season to clear land for agriculture. The Indonesian government has sent planes to try and put the fires out, and is also planning to seed clouds in order to induce rain. Malaysia has closed 600 schools in order to protect children from travelling in the worst haze in years.

Loz

Image credit: NASA.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/21/singapore-air-pollution-record-high

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=530090603718655&set=a.352867368107647.80532.352857924775258&type=1

 

Mexico also traditionally does seasonal agricultural burning of trees and brush for crop land, and the slash-and-burn smoke from as far away as Yucatán gets drawn by winds turning up from the Gulf of Mexico into central Texas.  In Austin and San Antonio, Texas, the resulting smoky haze has a specific and peculiar smell of wet, rotting grass in a gutter, with the wet rottenness probably acquired as the smoke infuses with the humidity rising from the Gulf.  There were widespread smoke and haze warnings last month in Texas resulting from such deliberate burnings, and along with the annoyance of the unpleasant smell, the haze can also burn eyes and aggravate respiratory problems.  I remember one hazy week in Austin years ago when the vegetable sewage smell blowing in with the sun-blocking smoke was so stifling that people downtown scurried from building to building so as to be outdoors for as briefly as possible.

 

I remember decades ago on Oahu in Hawaii when it was time to burn the sugarcane fields, which make up a large component of Hawaii's agricultural industry.  The sugarcane smoke naturally had a distinctly sweet aroma, as if brown sugar or molasses were put on a barbecue.  I'm sure the smoke similarly burned eyes and caused breathing problems, but, to this day I still simply only recall the sweet cooking scent.  Relatives tell me that many of those fields have nowadays become suburban track housing.

Actually the burning for agriculture are no longer performed intensively, at least in my region which every year has a lot of forestal fires in the mountains and the authorities take several actions against it (because actually as you say the haze is totally annoying and dangerous). The burning of sugarcane fields is another thing, before the harvest it must to be burned.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Forest fires can be a good thing.  The regrowth is necessary for many forest plants.  However, the policy in many places of suppressing all fires is often a cure worse than the disease.  If controlled burns are not used  to clean up the brush and dead falls a wild fire is inevitable.

 

The goings on in Sumatra is a thing called slash-and-burn farming.  A poor practice at best to replace a  natural resource's land that can be poorly farmed for a short time.  Very wasteful and unconscionable as well.  The noxious smoke is a nuisance and could be considered a serious international incident.

 

Governments take short-sighted views for quick gain and the result is usually less than optimal.

[mrbisonm 1,620]

When a stupid kid crosses the fence when it says to not to do so, because of a vicous dog, and he gets bit by the dog, then everyone else heard about it, but.....the neighbor's kid is stupid too, because he knows what happened to the first, but still crosses the fence and gets bit also.

 

Why is it that more than the majority of civilized people still do what others have learned not to do? Malaysia, most of south America, some African nations and others are a good example. I guess people like to learn and get bit by themselves.....

 

mrb

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Fred, do you have controlled burns where you live?  I seem to remember the eastern counties as being thoroughly wooded.  If not, who cleans up the brush and deadfalls in the forest?

[mrbisonm 1,620]

Fred, do you have controlled burns where you live?  I seem to remember the eastern counties as being thoroughly wooded.  If not, who cleans up the brush and deadfalls in the forest?

 

No, no forestfires in at least 200 km's around here. The last one I saw, or let's say more like smelled, was about 400 km's north of here in the area of Schefferville. Most of the quebec forests are in Private hands, I own a little over 500 acres of hardwood (leafy) and cedars myself, and here it is the owner that usually takes care of it, or it is left on its own, rotting away the good and old way, just like in the tropical forests.

I cut out some fallen trees in the fall for my firewood. My three sons do so also and I have friends and others that come and help clean the forests of dried and deadfalls, otherwise I would not be able to take care of these forests.

 

Since we have a lot of moisture around here, forest fires actually have little or no chance to start, also I would say that on the southern part of the St-Lawrence river, most of the forests are of hardwood trees, mostly maple. Cedars we have a lot too, but not so much pines, spruces or balsams. The last one you can find more on the other side of the river (stream).

 

Cultivated forests like in Europe and down in Ontario, we don't have, unless you want to see the one on Mount Royal in the middle of Montreal.... Especially in my area (look for Hereford or Chartierville/ Quebec on google earth) there's still a lot of wild untouched forests and some of them are even Vierge, meaning never been cut before.

 

8 years ago I have had cut a Yellow birchtree trunk on my land to made a living room table in one piece, 16 inches thick and 4' x 22'' wide. That was one heck of a birch, which got hit on the upper part  by a lightning. The stump has a diameter of 38 inches. Never knew they grew that size.

 

So, actual firestfires I only saw once in the southern Washington state, probably started by forest guards.

 

 

Fred

[Cpt Johnny 57]

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