Channel NewsAsia 19 Oct 10;
SINGAPORE : The haze is back in Singapore, with the southwesterly winds blowing in the smoke from the fires in Sumatra.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said the 3-hour PSI reading on Tuesday climbed from 78 at 6pm to 84 at 8pm before dropping to 61 at 11pm. Though the readings are still in the moderate range, the condition has worsened from the 24-hour reading of 56 at 4pm.
The 24-hour PSI is a measure of the air quality over a period of 24 hours. It is updated at 4pm daily. The 3-hour PSI reading is a measure of the air quality over a period three hours. It is updated on the hour.
A PSI reading of above 100 is considered unhealthy.
The NEA said the latest satellite pass detected 202 hotspots in Sumatra, mainly in the provinces of South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau.
The winds are expected to remain southwesterly to westerly from the evening to Wednesday, and showers with thunder are expected in the late morning and afternoon on Wednesday.
NEA said the showers should help to mitigate some of the smoke haze, but there is still a possibility that some slight haziness may remain over the next few days.
The agency is monitoring the smoke haze situation closely and will provide updates should the air quality deteriorate.
Members of the public may also call the NEA Call Centre at 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255-632) or access www.nea.gov.sg for any feedback or update on the situation.
- CNA/al/ir
Air quality in Singapore dips slightly
Channel NewsAsia 19 Oct 10;
SINGAPORE : The air quality in Singapore dipped slightly on Tuesday with a PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) reading of 56 which is in the moderate range.
This is an increase from Monday's PSI reading of 44 which was in the good range.
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), areas in the northern and western parts of Singapore registered the highest PSI levels.
The NEA had attributed the haze over the weekend to fires in Sumatra. - CNA /ls
Thick haze blankets Singapore
Air pollution takes a turn for the worse due to Indonesian fires
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 20 Oct 10;
THE smoky haze in Singapore, which has been lingering in the air over the past few days, took a turn for the worse yesterday.
The rain which fell in many areas earlier yesterday did little to quell the haze which blew in afterwards. Western Singapore seemed to be among the worst hit, although the air cleared somewhat later in the evening.
The Pollutants Standards Index (PSI), measured in three-hourly slots, stood at 84 between 5pm and 8pm, which put the air quality in the moderate range.
It fell back to 69 by 10pm. Readings of between 50 and 100 mean moderate air quality.
On Sunday, the PSI reading also crept past 50, after having done so on Oct 9 and Oct 12 as well.
Satellite pictures yesterday showed 202 'hot spots' in Sumatra, indicating where Indonesian farmers and plantation companies had set fires to clear large swathes of forests to get the land ready for the crop-planting season.
The prevailing winds from the south-west helped bring the smoke to Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.
The showers expected here over the next two days could wash out some of the haze, the NEA said, adding that some of it could linger.
The Indonesian fire-starters, mainly in the south Sumatran provinces of Jambi and Riau, are now at the tail end of the traditional burning season that began in July.
Their practice has cast a choking, smoky pall over Singapore and the region nearly every year since the early 1990s, hurting tourism and causing breathing problems for the young and old.
The National University of Singapore's Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (Crisp) has noted from its monitoring of satellite images that hot spots grew in number in the past week.
Mr Chia Aik Song, who heads Crisp's fire-monitoring unit, said fires in Riau in particular flared up on Thursday last week.
Climatologist Matthias Roth of the National University of Singapore confirmed that the number of hot spots peaked in the past two days.
It has not helped matters that the weather has been hot and dry in Riau in the past week, which resulted in more farmers setting fires, said Mr Afdhal Mahyuddin of the global environment group WWF's Indonesia office.
But even as Riau is facing a drought, other parts of Indonesia are being lashed by heavy storms, which experts have traced to the prevailing La Nina weather system, which worsens storms, droughts and cyclones globally.
That the haze has blown into Singapore was not lost on branding consultant Mary Tan, 23, who works in the city.
She said: 'It was like being in Genting Highlands. The air felt very heavy and claustrophobic.'
Mr Thomas Banas, 34, a sales manager for shipping company Marcura, said he saw the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort 'disappear' from view from his office on the second floor of Fullerton One yesterday afternoon.
The father of three, who moved here from Hong Kong four years ago to escape the air pollution there, said: 'Every year, we are reminded that the rainforest is going up in smoke...I just think people forget about it because (the haze) goes away again.'
Additional reporting by Victoria Vaughan
Haze caused by fires in Sumatra: NEA
Angela Tan Business Times 20 Oct 10;
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Tuesday that the prevailing southwesterly winds have brought in some smoke haze from the fires in Sumatra.
The 24-hr PSI at 4pm is 56, in the 'moderate' range.
Since then, the 3-hr PSI at 6pm has increased to 78.
The latest satellite pass on Tuesday detected 202 hotspots in Sumatra, mainly in the provinces of South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau.
The winds are expected to remain southwesterly to westerly from this evening to Wednesday, and showers with thunder are expected in the late morning and afternoon on Wednesday.
'The showers should help to mitigate some of the smoke haze, but there is still a possibility that some slight haziness may remain tomorrow and the next 2 days,' NEA said.
The 24-hr PSI is a measure of the air quality over a period of 24 hours. It is updated at 4pm daily. The 3-hr PSI reading is a measure of the air quality over a period 3 hours. It is updated on the hour.
