Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 21 Oct 10;
HAZE from Indonesia brought Singapore's air pollution to its worst level in four years yesterday, and the smoke is expected to remain in the air until at least Saturday.
The situation could worsen, as fires continue to burn in parts of Sumatra being cleared by farmers, and prevailing winds blow more smoke this way.
But some relief might come from showers expected this week, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.
The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hovered at 80 yesterday, the highest 24-hour recording since 2006 when Singapore was last blanketed by a severe haze.
A PSI of 80 puts the air quality in the moderate range.
Last night, the three-hour PSI was 74 between 7pm and 10pm.
The NEA has advised those with pre-existing respiratory and heart conditions to refrain from outdoor activities for now.
Expressing disappointment at the recurrence of the haze problem, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday that Singapore may register its concerns with the Indonesian authorities 'more strongly' if the situation worsens.
The haze has also hit several areas in the southern part of the Malaysian peninsula.
Worst hit was the town of Muar in Johor, where the pollution index hit the hazardous range of 432 on Malaysia's air quality index, forcing schools to shut.
The haze, which has affected Singapore over the past few days, got worse on Tuesday, when the PSI surged to 84 over one three-hour period.
A total of 202 hot spots were detected by satellite pictures over Sumatra on Tuesday, but that number fell to 61 yesterday.
The drop, however, is not a clear indication of the haze situation, said the NEA, as the pictures may have been obscured by cloud cover and the presence of excessive smoke plumes.
The Indonesian fire-starters, mainly in the south Sumatran provinces of Jambi and Riau, are now at the tail end of the traditional season of clearing and burning forested areas.
Their practice has cast a choking, smoky pall over the region nearly every year since the early 1990s.
Asked if the situation could worsen, Mr Foong Chee Leong, NEA's director- general of meteorological services, said this could not be ruled out, given the thick smoke plumes over Riau.
'These fires continue to burn, so it is still a concern,' he told yesterday's press conference.
Because the winds have not been strong, it would take up to a day for the smoke to reach here, he added.
'If more smoke was to blow this way, we will have time to give an early warning,' he said.
If the situation worsens, the NEA will also issue health advisories.
Dr Yaacob, speaking at a separate event yesterday, said he had informed the Indonesian authorities that Singapore was ready to help in their fire-fighting efforts.
He was disappointed that the haze problem had persisted despite repeated calls in the region for more to be done to prevent forest fires in Indonesia.
Just last week, Asean ministers meeting in Brunei had discussed the issue. The ministers may meet again to explore additional measures that could be needed, he added.
'This is not the first time we have reminded the Indonesians that they should pay attention to the hot spots both in Sumatra and Borneo,' said Dr Yaacob.
'Whenever there is a dry spell, and there will be, there is a tendency for people to burn. We impressed upon Indonesia they have to do more.'
Since Sunday, the NEA has been issuing three-hourly updates of the PSI, following an overwhelming number of calls from concerned members of the public.
It received more than 280 calls over the past two days alone.
Twice before, in 1997 and 2006, three-hourly PSI updates were issued when Singapore was hit by especially bad levels of haze.
NEA RECEIVED 280 CALLS
Since Sunday, the NEA has been issuing three-hourly updates of the PSI, following an overwhelming number of calls from concerned members of the public.
It received more than 280 calls over the past two days alone.
Twice before, in 1997 and 2006, three-hourly PSI updates were issued when Singapore was hit by especially bad levels of haze.
Haze likely to stay at least 3 days, says NEA
Channel NewsAsia 20 Oct 10;
SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) said moderate haze would likely continue in Singapore for the next three days.
It added hotspot activities in Sumatra were expected to persist or escalate.
Satellite pictures on Tuesday showed 202 hotspots 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-plating season.
The number of satellite pictures has gone down to 146 on Wednesday.
But NEA said the drop in number of hotspots was not a clear indication of the haze situation as there might be undetected peat fires underground or fires undetected by satellite due to cloud cover.
NEA said the prevailing winds from the southwest and westerly directions were blowing the smoke haze to Singapore.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim has expressed disappointment at the recent sharp increase in hotspots in Sumatra.
Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of a power plant on Wednesday morning, he said Singapore has asked the Indonesian authorities on several occasions to take extra measures to ensure the forest fires do not recur.
"We are a bit disappointed with what's happening; this is not the first time that we have informed the Indonesians that they should pay attention to the hotspots both in Sumatra and Borneo," Dr Yaacob said.
"And in fact, (on) many occasions, we have told the Indonesians, 'please take extra measures that this does not recur'.
"But this has happened. Last week, when we had our meeting in Brunei for the ASEAN Haze Agreement, we reminded (during) the meeting, that we should remain vigilant even though it is supposed to wetter than normal for this year".
Dr Yaacob added meanwhile, he had informed the Indonesians that Singapore would assist readily in fire-fighting effort.
The three-hour PSI reading as at 4pm on Wednesday was 79, which is in the moderate range.
A PSI level above 100 is considered unhealthy.
-CNA/wk