Tee Zhuo Straits Times 8 Feb 19;
SINGAPORE - A strong burning smell has been reported over several parts of eastern Singapore on Friday morning (Feb 8), including Tampines, Bedok and Pasir Ris.
Mr Jon Lee, 45, who lives in Tampines, likened the smell to the haze or offerings being burnt during the Chinese seventh month.
"I was taking my son to school on the way to work at around 6am, and there was a strong burning smell. At 7am, when I dropped my son off in the East Coast area, it was still there," said Mr Lee, who works in sales.
He told The Straits Times that there was no burning smell when he reached his workplace in the west. He added that his colleague who lives in Bedok also described a similar burning smell.
A reader, who wished to be known only as Ms Tan, said she noticed the smell when she reached the void deck of her Tampines home after 7am.
"The smell was pretty strong, and when I got to the bus stop I could see that it was a bit hazy. Things looked blurry from a distance," said the 24-year-old trainee teacher.
Another reader who did not wish to be named also said she smelled a strong burning smell. She said the smell was similar to the haze.
"I smelled it once I woke up around 7.30am and stepped out of my room. I went to the balcony to see if someone was burning something, but I didn't really see anything," said the 23-year-old who works in public relations.
Netizens posting on online forum Reddit said that Simei, Pasir Ris, Bedok, Tampines and Marine Parade were among the areas affected, with some as early as 3am.
Facebook user Han Han, in a post at about 7.25am, said it smelled like "burnt leaves".
When ST reached the Tampines area at about 8.30am, a strong burning smell was in the air.
Some pedestrians were spotted donning face masks at Tampines Central Park.
The air around the park was visibly hazy, with buildings in the distance appearing unclear and obscured.
At about 10am, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) value listed on the National Environment Agency's (NEA's) website was 63, which is in the "moderate" range of 51 to 100.
The figure for the east at 10am was higher than for other regions, which were 26 for the west, 35 in the north, 46 for the central region and 53 in the south.
The one-hour PM2.5 reading at 10am was 62 for eastern Singapore, which is within the "elevated" range of 56 to 150. PM2.5 is the dominant pollutant during haze episodes, according to NEA.
NEA's data showed that PM2.5 readings for the east have been increasing steadily, from 48 at 2am to 60 at 9am.
The other PM2.5 readings at 10am were 7 for the west, 14 in north, 13 for the central region and 10 in the south.
As of 9am, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said it had not received any reports of incidents that may have caused the smell.
ST has contacted NEA for more information.
'Smoky smell' over eastern Singapore not caused by haze or local fires; NEA monitoring air quality
Tee Zhuo Straits Times 8 Feb 19;
SINGAPORE - A strong burning smell has been reported over several parts of eastern Singapore on Friday morning (Feb 8), including Tampines, Bedok and Pasir Ris.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the National Environment Agency (NEA) confirmed that it received feedback of a smoky smell in the eastern part of Singapore.
Its investigations thus far have not detected any local sources of burning or incidents at factories that could have contributed to the smell, said its spokesman, adding that no sources of transboundary haze were detected in the region.
"We are closely monitoring the air quality and will provide updates of any further findings or significant change to the air quality situation," he said.
Mr Jon Lee, 45, who lives in Tampines, likened the smell to the haze or offerings being burned during the Chinese seventh month.
"I was taking my son to school on the way to work at around 6am, and there was a strong burning smell. At 7am, when I dropped my son off in the East Coast area, it was still there," said Mr Lee, who works in sales.
He told The Straits Times that there was no burning smell when he reached his workplace in the west. He added that his colleague who lives in Bedok also described a similar burning smell.
A reader, who wished to be known only as Ms Tan, said she noticed the smell when she reached the void deck of her Tampines home after 7am.
"The smell was pretty strong, and when I got to the bus stop I could see that it was a bit hazy. Things looked blurry from a distance," said the 24-year-old trainee teacher.
A mysterious, strong acrid smell and smoke swept across parts of Singapore on Sept 25, 2017. The slightly smoky conditions can be seen in this photo from Toa Payoh Lorong 1 taken at 8.30pm.
Another reader who did not wish to be named also said she smelled a strong burning smell. She said the smell was similar to the haze.
"I smelled it once I woke up around 7.30am and stepped out of my room. I went to the balcony to see if someone was burning something, but I didn't really see anything," said the 23-year-old who works in public relations.
Netizens posting on online forum Reddit said that Simei, Pasir Ris, Bedok, Tampines and Marine Parade were among the areas affected, with some as early as 3am.
Facebook user Han Han, in a post at about 7.25am, said it smelled like "burnt leaves".
When ST reached the Tampines area at about 8.30am, a strong burning smell was in the air.
The air around the park was visibly hazy, with buildings in the distance appearing unclear and obscured.
Some pedestrians were spotted donning face masks at Tampines Central Park.
Apart from the east, at least one ST reader also said the smell reached the Bukit Timah area in the early morning.
The reader, who only wanted to be known as Mr Jeevan, said he could smell it while jogging from his home at Jalan Jurong Kechil to the Beauty World MRT station.
"I was starting my daily early morning jog at about 4.45am, and the smell was very strong. I thought at first that someone was burning offerings," said the 65-year-old businessman.
He added that the smell seemed to have subsided by about 5.15am.
In its statement, NEA said the one-hour PM2.5 readings in the east from 4am to 5am ranged from 70 to 73 micrograms per cubic m (mcg/m3), in the "elevated" range. PM2.5 is the dominant pollutant during haze episodes.
This dropped to the normal range from 6am to 7am, with readings ranging from 19 to 26 mcg/m3.
But it rose again from 8am to 11am to "elevated", ranging from 46 to 62 mcg/m3. The one-hour PM2.5 readings in other regions of Singapore were in the normal range over the same periods of time.
As at 5pm, the 24-hour PSI was 65, in the moderate range.
As of 7pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said it had not received any reports of incidents that may have caused the smell.
Some ST readers in Pasir Ris and Tampines said that the smell had returned around 10pm on Friday.
No sources of transboundary haze to explain smoky smell: NEA
Ian Cheng Channel NewsAsia 8 Feb 19;
SINGAPORE: Residents in the eastern part of Singapore reported a smoky smell in the air on Friday morning (Feb 8) between 6am and 10am, with some people speculating on social media whether haze blowing in from other countries was the cause.
In a statement, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that it had received feedback regarding the smell.
"Our investigations thus far have not detected any local sources of burning or factory upsets that could have contributed to the smell," said NEA.
"No sources of transboundary haze were detected in the region."
The hourly PM2.5 readings from 4am to 5am were recorded at 70 to 73µg/m3, which was in Band II (Elevated). This dropped to Band I (Normal) from 6am to 7am, with readings ranging from 19 to 26µg/m3. From 8am to 11am, the 1-hr PM2.5 readings were in Band II (Elevated), ranging from 46 to 62µg/m3.
During this time, the hourly PM2.5 readings for the rest of Singapore were in Band I (Normal).
At 5pm, the 24-hr PSI was 65, in the Moderate range. The 1-hr PM2.5 readings in the East since 11am have ranged from 8 to 18µg/m3, in Band I (Normal).
"We are closely monitoring the air quality, and will provide updates of any further findings or significant change to the air quality situation," said NEA.
A CNA reader who wanted to be identified only as Mr Soh noticed the smell when he left his flat in Tampines at about 6.30am.
"I woke up at 6 and immediately smelled smoke in the air. I thought it was someone burning incense but after I left home I realised there was a hazy look to the morning mist," he said.
“I could smell the haze from my kitchen at 6.30am in the morning, it smelled like something was burning," said another Tampines resident, Muhammad Nur Hidayat.
"Half an hour later, it looked a little hazier when I left the house to send my daughter to childcare, before heading to work.”
Source: CNA/ic
