Haze may return to Singapore as Sumatra hot spots increase

David Ee Straits Times 22 Jul 13;

KEEP those N95 masks handy. The haze which choked Singapore last month could be making a comeback.

The number of forest-fire hot spots in Sumatra rose sharply at the weekend, the National Environment Agency (NEA) warned in an advisory yesterday.

Satellite readings showed that there were 159 hot spots as of Saturday. Of these, 63 were in Riau province, central Sumatra, about 280km from Singapore.

By yesterday evening, the hot-spot count for the whole of Sumatra reached 261, as hazy skies returned to Dumai - the town in Riau at the epicentre of the recent haze. Visibility on the streets was down to under 200m, and residents expected the haze to worsen today.

Singapore is enjoying clear skies for now, as prevailing southerly and south-easterly winds mean smoke from the fires is not being blown here, the NEA said. But it added that some areas in Peninsular Malaysia had already been affected.

Bukit Rambai in Malacca recorded an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 117 at 10pm yesterday, in the unhealthy range.

Malaysia's API and Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) are closely related, and any reading above 100 is considered unhealthy.

Dry weather conditions in Sumatra are expected to persist over the next day or two, the NEA said. It added: "Should there be a change in the wind direction to blow from the west, Singapore may then experience hazy conditions."

As of 11pm yesterday, the 24-hour PSI was between 22 and 31, in the good range. The NEA said it would provide further alerts if it becomes more likely that hazy conditions will return.

Meanwhile, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu told reporters yesterday that Singapore would like to see more being done to educate Indonesian farmers not to start the fires.

Speaking on the sidelines of a community event in Jurong, she said: "I am glad that life can be normal again, but we shouldn't take it for granted."

davidee@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Zakir Hussain in Jakarta


Singaporeans should stay vigilant & not take clear skies for granted: Grace Fu
Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 21 Jul 13;

SINGAPORE: Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Foreign Affairs Grace Fu has urged Singaporeans to stay vigilant and not take the clear skies for granted.

She was commenting Sunday on the 15th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze, which was held in Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2013.

She also described Indonesia's agreement to share digitised concession maps with other governments as a start, and feels more can be done.

Ms Fu said: “It's always about just building trust as well as confidence. We have shown that the system works. The technologies, platforms are already there. We have very good satellite pictures. We have very good ideas where the hotspots are.

"There is some information about concessions on the internet that has actually surfaced through non-government sources. We can put them together and start to piece the pieces together. So this is a good start for us to draw attention to answer to the public about the need for information. This will be a start, and if we can get more comfort from our counterpart, we hope that official data can also be put on the public platform."

- CNA/xq


Hotspots in Sumatra increasing, ASEAN Coordinating Centre alerted
Channel NewsAsia 22 Jul 13;

SINGAPORE: There are now 261 hotspots in Sumatra, with haze affecting mainly Selangor and Malacca on Monday.

Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the National Environment Agency (NEA) had contacted the Indonesian authorities to register Singapore's major concerns and alerted the ASEAN Coordinating Centre.

Writing on his Facebook page, Dr Balakrishnan said although Singapore is currently spared because of the wind direction, Singaporeans all need to be vigilant and be prepared for any sudden change in the situation.

"Singapore will also work with NGOs to identify the companies with concession areas affected by fire. We need these companies and the Indonesian authorities to do their part to extinguish these fires," he added.

- CNA/de