Air quality returns to unhealthy range in central region
The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in the central region entered the unhealthy range at 8pm on Saturday (Sep 26).
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SINGAPORE: Air quality in the central region of Singapore returned to the unhealthy range on Saturday (Sep 26).
The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in the region hit 104 at 8pm, before rising to 111 at 10pm. All other regions were in the moderate range.
PSI readings have dipped in and out of the unhealthy range over the past weeks.
The central region last recorded unhealthy air quality on the evening of Sep 20.
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On Saturday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in its daily haze advisory that the 24-hour PSI was forecast to be in the moderate to low unhealthy range.
If the air quality over the next 24 hours is in the moderate range, all groups - healthy people, the elderly, pregnant women, children and those with chronic lung or heart disease - can continue with normal activities, said NEA.
If the air quality is unhealthy, healthy individuals should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. In such instances, the elderly, pregnant women and children should minimise such activities, and those with chronic lung and heart disease should avoid them altogether.
NEA also said that that while some showers are forecast over Singapore and parts of the surrounding region overnight and on Sunday, dry conditions are expected to continue over southern Sumatra and the southern and eastern parts of Kalimantan.
As such, there could be a risk of smoke haze affecting Singapore as the prevailing winds are forecast to blow from the southeast or southwest.
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.
The 1-hour PM2.5 reading, on the other hand, 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.
A 24-hour PSI reading is considered "unhealthy" when it is in the 101 to 200 range, "very unhealthy" when it is within the 201-300 range, and "hazardous" when it goes over 300.
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