The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) is a regional centre under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which is mandated to:
Provide regional weather and climate assessment and outlook, as well as seasonal predictions and climate projections;

• Monitor and assess land/or forest fires and provide early warning on transboundary haze;

• Compile, analyse and disseminate information derived from satellite imagery and meteorological data necessary to detect and monitor land and forest fires and the occurrence of smoke haze;

• Operate an official website under the ambit of ASEAN to provide the relevant ASEAN meteorological services and environmental information useful for haze, weather and climate monitoring; and

• Strengthen the region’s early warning and monitoring system, through research and development and regional capacity-building programmes.
   

In the monitoring of land/forest fire and smoke haze, the centre provides daily updates on the regional weather and haze situation and outlook, and early warnings on the risk of transboundary haze occurrences, as well as data such as hotspot information and satellite imagery. ASMC also hosts the Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS) data, courtesy from Met Malaysia, which highlights the risk of fire occurrence in the ASEAN region. This information helps countries make informed decisions for fire preventions to protect public health and the environment. 

ASMC also provides subseasonal-to-seasonal and ENSO outlooks as well as climate projections data to support ASEAN countries in developing strategies to manage potential climate-related risks in sectors such as agriculture, water management, and disaster risk reduction.

ASMC maintains a comprehensive database, ensuring accessibility for policymakers, researchers, and the public via the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Information System (WIS) portal. ASMC continues to improve its services by leveraging the latest technology as well as tapping on regional and international partnerships.

The ASMC capability building programme aims to build the capabilities of ASEAN National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and environmental agencies in the four main areas: weather forecasting, haze monitoring, subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction, and climate change projections. This is achieved through a series of training workshops, customised courses, and discussions forums. 

Some examples are as below:

• ASEAN Climate Outlook Forum (ASEANCOF) where member states collaborate to develop consensus-based climate outlooks.

• Workshops on Hotspot and Haze Assessment (H2A workshops) where training is conducted in fires and haze monitoring, including weather and climate considerations and the use of satellite data.

• Capability-Building Programme in Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Prediction (S2S)

• Weather Prediction using Numerical Methods (WPNM) workshops on Numerical Weather Prediction

• ASEAN Regional Climate Data, Analysis and Projections (ARCDAP) series of workshops to enhance synergies in generating regional/national climate change projections.