Large portions of the rain forests of Borneo (mainly in Indonesian Kalimantan and in the Malaysian state of Sabah) were heavily damaged by fire in 1982 and 1983. The unusual magnitude of the fires should be related to the intense drought in tropical Southeast Asia during the second part of 1982 and early 1983. Because of their ecological and economic significance, those events have attracted wide attention. They have raised new questions regarding the management and preservation of tropical ecosystems experiencing intensified population pressures. Accurate and timely assessments of the extent and dynamics of the Borneo fires" have been difficult, however, owing to the size and geography of the area. The authors report on a series of observations made using the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer carried on-board the NOAA-7 satellite. Such observations obtained daily by this sensor provide valuable information on the occurrence of the fires and on their impact on the vegetation."
