Identification of forest and land fires in Sumatra Island (case study July 23, 2017)

Abstract

Forest fires are one of the phenomena which can cause negative impacts on the environment. Based on the BMKG report on July 23, 2017, there are 12 hotspots in Riau and several other provinces on the Sumatra Island, such as Jambi, Bangka Belitung and Lampung. This condition leads to a reduction of horizontal visibility as well as causing respiratory disturbance resulting from the smoke of burnt land fields. Based on this cases, further research was conducted to identify the burnt land fields using MODIS satellite imagery reflectance and vegetation index variables (NDVI) using NOAA Climate Data Record. The proccessing results indicate the presence of pixels indicated as burning field. In addition, the detection condition of smoke distribution and wind trajectory through Himawari satellite imagery processing using RGB technique in SATAID application. The wind pattern is visualized through a brown pattern on the Sumatra Island and winds moving from the east-southeast direction indicate the smoke is scattered west-northwest from the hotspot.