Today Online 14 Sep 15;
SINGAPORE – The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) for the next 24 hours is expected to be in the mid to high sections of the unhealthy range, and may enter the low end of the ‘very unhealthy’ range if denser haze from Sumatra is blown in, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) in a Monday evening (Sept 14) update.
As at 11pm today, the 24-hour PSI was in the low to mid sections of the unhealthy range at 128-160. The 3-hour PSI was 181.
Hazy conditions improved this morning, but the respite was brief as haze from Sumatra was again blown in by prevailing winds in the afternoon.
The current hazy conditions are expected to persist, as prevailing winds are forecast to blow from the southwest for the rest of today and tomorrow, and the situation could further deteriorate if the unfavourable wind conditions continue, said the NEA.
Thundery showers are forecast for Singapore in the pre-dawn and early morning hours, but this may only bring a brief respite to the hazy conditions, the agency added.
Hotspots could not be detected in Sumatra today due to partial satellite pass and cloud cover, but the NEA said that "widespread moderate to dense" smoke haze was observed in central and southern Sumatra. The haze has spread to the surrounding sea areas.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan reiterated Singapore’s offer of help to Indonesia this afternoon as a follow-up to a letter sent last week, after expressing concern over the haze situation.
In reply to Singapore’s offer, Indonesian Minister for Environment and Forestry Dr Siti Nurbaya Bakar said that she will consult Indonesian President Joko Widodo again, as he is personally overseeing the effort.
She explained that the Indonesian authorities had already deployed a host of resources, including aircraft and helicopters as well as military and police forces, to control the fires and conduct law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Dr Siti Nurbaya had agreed to Dr Balakrishnan’s request for Indonesia to share the names of companies which are suspected to be causing the fires, once they were able to confirm the information with checks and ground truthing.
HEALTH ADVISORY
The health impact of haze is dependent on one’s health status, the PSI level, and the length and intensity of outdoor activity. As such, reducing outdoor activities and physical exertion can help limit the ill effects from haze exposure, NEA has advised.
Given the air quality forecast for the next 24 hours, healthy persons should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion, NEA added. The elderly, pregnant women and children should minimise outdoor activity, while those with chronic lung or heart disease should avoid outdoor activity. Persons who are not feeling well, especially the elderly and children, and those with chronic heart or lung conditions, should seek medical attention.
In addition, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) today urged employers to take special care of their workers as the haze situation in Singapore reaches unhealthy levels, especially those whose work requires them to be outdoors for a majority of the time.
In a media statement, the NTUC reminded employers that it is their duty to ensure all necessary precautions are taken to minimise risks posed by haze exposure during this period. “Discretion should be exercised when deploying workers outdoors, such as ensuring that the appropriate protective gears are issued for outdoor work,” said director of NTUC’s Workplace Safety and Health Secretariat, Mr Yeo Guat Kwang. “On the part of workers, we urge everyone to exercise self-care, which includes making sure that the protective gears issued to them are used, and used correctly.” WONG PEI TING
Air quality may enter low end of the ‘very unhealthy’ range if denser haze from Sumatra is blown in
