Singapore’s Air Quality Remains Unhealthy Amid Persistent Haze

By Anas Abu Hassan

SINGAPORE, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s air quality remained unhealthy across all regions on Thursday as persistent haze pushed the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) to as high as 159 in the west.

As of 11am, National Environment Agency (NEA) data showed that the 24-hour PSI stood at 159 in the west, 142 in central Singapore, 122 in the east, 112 in the north and 111 in the south.

Meanwhile, one-hour PM2.5 readings were in the elevated band in western and central Singapore, and in the normal band in other regions.

The 24-hour PSI forms the basis of NEA’s daily health advisories, while the one-hour PM2.5 readings reflect hourly average concentrations of fine particulate matter.

The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) said in its latest daily weather and haze outlook that dry weather prevailed over most of the southern ASEAN region overnight.

It noted that scattered hotspots were detected in Kalimantan and Sumatra while few hotspots were detected elsewhere in the southern ASEAN region.

“Moderate transboundary smoke haze was observed to cover parts of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Kalimantan, Sarawak and the southern and central parts of Sumatra.

“Many air quality stations in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and Sumatra are reporting unhealthy to hazardous levels,” it said on Thursday.

-- BERNAMA