Singapore air quality enters unhealthy range in central region; 24-hour PSI breaches 100
The 24-hour PSI in the central part of Singapore crossed into the unhealthy band at 7am on Friday (Sep 4).
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SINGAPORE: Air quality in Singapore's central region entered the unhealthy range on Friday (Sep 4), with the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) rising to 107 by 2pm, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The 24-hour PSI in the central region crossed the unhealthy threshold at 7am, when it reached 101.
The unhealthy band begins at 101 and extends to 200.
Readings in the other regions remained in the moderate range. At 2pm, the 24-hour PSI was 90 in the west, 91 in the east, 79 in the north and 77 in the south.
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Following the rise in the 24-hour PSI, NEA said it will issue daily haze advisories, including a 24-hour PSI forecast. The forecast is intended to help the public plan activities and events over the following 24 hours.
The 24-hour PSI is Singapore's indicator of daily air quality and forms the basis of NEA's daily health advisories. It is calculated using six air pollutants - PM2.5, PM10, ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Meanwhile, the 1-hour PM2.5 reading is the hourly average of the PM2.5 pollutant levels. PM2.5 is fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or shorter, and is the dominant pollutant during haze that causes harm to health.
While the 24-hour PSI is an average of the past 24 hours, the one-hour PM2.5 reading reflects the air quality at a single point in time.
LATEST WEATHER AND HAZE SITUATION
In its latest update on the weather and haze situation, NEA said many air quality stations in Kalimantan, the central and southern parts of Sumatra, as well as in Sabah and Sarawak, recorded unhealthy to hazardous levels.
It added that scattered to widespread hotspots were detected in Kalimantan and the southern and central parts of Sumatra, while some hotspots were detected elsewhere in the southern ASEAN region, where dry conditions persist in many areas.
Moderate to dense transboundary haze was observed over the northern parts of Borneo and the southwestern parts of the Philippines. Moderate to dense smoke plumes were also seen in many parts of Kalimantan, the central and southern parts of Sumatra and the central parts of Sarawak.
"Over the next few days, dry conditions are forecast over many parts of the southern ASEAN region, apart from the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, and the central parts of Borneo, where showers are expected," said NEA.
It added that the hotspot and smoke haze situation is expected to remain elevated in fire-prone regions experiencing prolonged dry conditions, with a continued risk of severe transboundary haze occurrence.
At the start of August, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre raised its alert to Level 2 for the southern Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. This is the second-highest level, signalling an increasing risk of transboundary haze.
The alert indicates escalating hotspot activity, with moderate to dense smoke haze observed over two or more consecutive days.
The 28 public agencies that make up the government's inter-agency haze task force are ready to roll out their respective action plans if air quality deteriorates into the unhealthy range, the authorities said previously.
Chaired by NEA, the task force develops and rolls out plans to minimise and manage the impact of haze here, with agencies able to adopt tiered responses based on air quality readings and forecasts.
The task force convenes yearly before the start of the dry season in June to update its plans. It has met twice so far this year – once at the end of January, following peatland and vegetation fires in east Johor, and again in April.
Members of the public may access updates, including current air quality readings and health advisories, via NEA's website, the haze microsite, the myENV application and the agency's social media channels.
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