Channel NewsAsia 31 Aug 16;
SINGAPORE: Air quality in Singapore hovered in the Good to Moderate range on Wednesday (Aug 31), following thunderstorms over several areas in the afternoon.
Four hotspots were detected on Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday, and no haze was observed as there have been showers on parts of Sumatra during the day, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said.
NEA said in an advisory that for the next 24 hours, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) is forecast to be in the Moderate range, while the 1-hr PM2.5 concentration is expected to remain in Band I (Normal). Thundery showers are expected in the morning and winds are forecast to blow from the south.
However, prevailing winds are expected to gradually shift to blow from the southwest or west in the next few days. “Slightly hazy conditions can be expected over the weekend if fires emerge in Sumatra and the situation deteriorates over the next few days,” NEA said.
Indonesian authorities had warned on Tuesday that haze from forest fires in Riau could head towards Singapore and Malaysia in the next five days due to a change in wind direction, but on Wednesday, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said all hotspots in Riau have been extinguished by firefighters.
- CNA/xk
