SINGAPORE — The haze has reached unhealthy levels in Singapore today (June 17).
The three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading hit 117 at 7pm. The last time the PSI breached the unhealthy threshold was on October 21, 2010, when it hit 108.
The reading climbed steadily today, from 64 at 11am, to 80 at noon and hitting 100 at 2pm and 105 at 3pm and 111 at 4pm.
In a statement, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said it has alerted the Indonesian Ministry of Environment on the haze situation experienced in Singapore, and urged the Indonesian authorities to look into urgent measures to mitigate the transboundary haze occurrence. The NEA said it will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates when necessary.
The NEA advised children, the elderly and those with heart or lung diseases to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor activities. Everyone else should limit prolonged or heavy outdoor activities. The hazy conditions are expected to persist for the next few days, said the agency, adding that weather conditions in the region have led to an escalation in hotspot activities mainly over central Sumatra.
Some 100 hotspots were detected over Sumatra on June 15, with the number increasing to 138 a day later. The smoke haze from the fires in Sumatra was brought over by prevailing winds blowing from the southwest or west, and has affected Singapore since June 13.
According to the NEA website, PSI readings of 50 and below denote “good” air quality, “moderate” for 51-100 and “unhealthy” for 101-200. The three-hour PSI readings are calculated based on PM10 concentrations only.
The public can access PSI updates through various channels, including NEA's website and NEA Twitter, and NEA myENV App on iPhone and Android.
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