Singapore's PSI hits high of 79, sparks health warning

Leong Wai Kit Channel NewsAsia 7 Sep 12;

SINGAPORE: Singapore registered its worst level of air pollution for the year on Friday as smoke from forest fires in Indonesia blew over the city-state, triggering a health warning.

Singapore's three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a high of 79 at 7am on Friday. The air began to clear later in the morning thanks to favourable winds.

The PSI fell to a reading of 33 at noon, before climbing to 52 at 5pm.

A PSI reading of 0-50 indicates air quality is "good", 51-100 is "moderate" while anything above 100 is considered "unhealthy".

"For the past one week, an increase in hotspot activities was observed over Sumatra," the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in its latest update.

"The current prevailing winds blowing from the southwest or south have transported the haze from fires in southern Sumatra towards Singapore," referring to the Indonesian island.

It said hazy conditions could still recur and advised people with heart or lung disease, children and older adults aged 65 and above to avoid all physical activity outdoors.

"Everyone else should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion," NEA added.

Fires in Indonesia are mostly concentrated in the provinces of Jambi and South Sumatra.

The haze caused by the fires builds up during the dry season when farmers clean their land by burning, affecting tourism and contributing to health problems across the region.

Indonesia's government has outlawed land-clearing by fire but weak law enforcement means the ban is largely ignored.

As Singapore braces for more hazy days ahead, the NEA will provide hourly updates of the three-hour PSI reading from 7am to 7pm daily to keep the public informed more regularly of the haze situation.

Meanwhile businesses and the organisers of a major marathon said there are contingency plans in place.

Organisers of the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon 2012 said they are ready to cancel the event on Sunday morning if the PSI reaches an unhealthy level by Saturday evening.

Participants are advised to check the SAFRA website for more information.

One bicycle rental shop at a beach attraction said it is considering giving out masks to its customers.

Others with back-up plans include the Singapore Flyer.

Singapore Flyer's senior manager for guest services, Henry Loo, said: "If the haze is bad, it will be a national problem. Everybody will be advised to stay indoors. So, we will definitely discourage our visitors from boarding the capsules. But, for those visitors who have already purchased tickets, we will encourage them to come back another day, or if they insist, we will refund them."

The public can access PSI updates through the following channels:

a) Weather@SG website at www.weather.nea.gov.sg/

b) twitter.com/neasg

c) NEA Call Centre at 1800 CALL NEA (1800 2255 632)

d) NEA iPhone/Android App myENV

- CNA/AFP/xq/al/ir

Hourly PSI readings until haze ends
Jennani Durai Straits Times 8 Sep 12;

WITH the haze worsening yesterday, the authorities have started providing hourly updates to keep the public better informed.

Previously, readings of the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) were taken only at 8am, noon and 4pm daily, and they reflected 24-hour averages.

Since yesterday, readings have been taken hourly, and they reflect the average of the PSI readings for the previous three hours.

Readings from 7am to 7pm will be posted on the National Environment Agency's (NEA) website.

Such hourly readings will be more relevant because shifting winds could cause the haze situation to change at any time, said a spokesman for NEA.

Yesterday's readings hit a high of 79 at 7am - the highest so far this year. It was outside the good range of 0 to 50, and within the moderate range of 51 to 100.

On Thursday, the last readings taken at 4pm ranged from 58 to 64 across the island.

NEA attributed the haze to an increase in hot spots over Sumatra earlier this week.

It added, however, that the haze situation improved later in the day yesterday.

The wind direction had changed since Thursday evening - with winds blowing from the south-east and south instead of south-west - bringing about better air quality and visibility.

The latest PSI reading, publicised at 7pm last night, was 52.

NEA expects burning activities in southern Sumatra to continue in the week ahead due to dry weather. "We might still experience hazy conditions on some days if the wind direction changes to southwesterly," it said.

It said that even though the current PSI readings have not reached an unhealthy level, those with heart and respiratory ailments, the elderly and children are advised to reduce physical exertion and outdoor activities.

A spokesman said hourly readings will be made available until the haze goes away.

The haze is an annual occurrence caused by farmers and logging companies in Indonesia - particularly in Riau, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Jambi and Aceh - burning forests to clear land for cultivation between June and September, the region's dry season.

But while the haze might have been a talking point, outdoor restaurants and tourist attractions have reported no significant dip in patronage in the past few days.

Ms Lily Hamid, the marketing manager for the 1-Rochester Group, said the haze was especially noticeable at 1-Altitude in Raffles Place because the bar is 282m above the ground.

"Some guests have said that there was a smoky smell in the air, but all our guests who booked al fresco tables have maintained their bookings," she said.

The Singapore Flyer and SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands remain open. A Flyer spokesman said that the number of visitors had not dropped, and it would act if the PSI exceeded 100.

Ticket refunds would be given, or guests would be encouraged to come back another time.

Ms Alicia Seah, a senior vice-president for marketing and public relations at CTC Travel, said the haze is unlikely to deter tourists from coming as it is not a prolonged problem.

A spokesman for the Singapore National Games said information on air quality will be relayed regulary to all those involved. Netball, football, athletics and swimming competitions will be held outdoors this weekend.

Cloud seeding in Jambi after disrupted flights
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 8 Sep 12;

JAKARTA - Indonesia started a cloud-seeding operation yesterday in Jambi after flights into the province were disrupted.

The operation coincided with the local authorities' appeal to residents in the provincial capital to go out of their houses only for essential purposes as choking haze enveloped the city.

"The operation will run for 30 days and cost a total of 3.35 billion rupiah (S$430,000)," Mr Heru Widodo, the most senior bureaucrat in charge of cloud-seeding operations across Indonesia, said in an SMS reply to The Straits Times.

Satellite images yesterday showed that the number of hot spots in the country's most forest fire-prone provinces - Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra - has declined in recent days. But haze spawned by earlier fires stayed above some areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The number of hot spots in these three provinces peaked in the three-day period that ended on Monday, when a total of 733 hot spots were detected, substantially higher than the 110 in the previous three-day span.

The effects seen in Singapore on Thursday were likely from forest fires concentrated in the southern part of Sumatra, including Jambi, according to West Kalimantan-based weather forecaster Suriandi.

The PSI in Singapore hit 64 in the northern and eastern parts on Thursday, and ranged between 58 and 61 elsewhere.

The readings yesterday ranged from 57 in the east to 68 in the north.

Yesterday, flights leaving and going into the Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin airport in Jambi were delayed for four hours until 10am as visibility dropped to below 1.5km, according to Jambi Deputy Mayor Sum Indra.

In Jambi, visibility during early morning hours up to 9am often falls below 1.5km due to morning fog and the lack of wind, Jambi-based weather forecaster Muhamad Nur told The Straits Times. It normally rises to above 5km at around noon and in the afternoon, helped by the sunlight and winds that blow at this time, he added.

Jambi has been practically blanketed by haze in the past month, but rain late last month helped to clear the air for a few days. In recent days, the haze has come back, and even intensified.

"If anyone must go out of the house, especially children, they should put on a mask as the haze would affect breathing," Mr Sum said in an interview with Jakarta-based Elshinta radio.

The municipal government started to distribute free masks yesterday to residents in certain parts of the city as part of the mask wearing campaign, and expects other residents to obtain masks themselves.

Most fires were not spontaneous fires, Mr Sum said.

"Many farmers like to burn their farmland ahead of the rainy season in October, believing it will boost fertility. This is an old-fashioned way of farming and must immediately be dropped," he told Elshinta radio.