SINGAPORE, Sept 15 — All five regions of Singapore recorded unhealthy air quality early today, marking the first time since September 2019 that the entire island has entered the unhealthy range, The Straits Times reported.
At 6am, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) stood at 104 in the north, 111 in the south, 128 in the east, 128 in the west and 154 in the central region.
The readings dipped slightly by 9am but remained in the unhealthy range, at 103 in the north, 106 in the south, 122 in the east, 124 in the west and 148 in the central region.
Air quality is classified as unhealthy when the 24-hour PSI is between 101 and 200. The National Environment Agency (NEA) advisesd people to reduce outdoor activities when readings reach this range, the report said.
The north region was the last to cross into the unhealthy range, with its PSI rising to 102 at about 1am today from 99 at midnight.
The worsening air quality followed a deterioration yesterday, when all regions except the north recorded unhealthy PSI levels after several days of moderate readings, The Straits Times reported.
Meanwhile, one-hour PM2.5 readings across most of Singapore were within the normal range at 6am, ranging from 32 to 44 micrograms per cubic metre. The central and western regions recorded elevated readings of 66 and 59 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.
By 9am, PM2.5 readings across the island had returned to normal, ranging from 28 to 36 micrograms per cubic metre, according to the English daily.
In an advisory yesterday, NEA said Singapore’s air quality over the following 24 hours was expected to range from high-moderate to mid-unhealthy levels.
The agency said moderate to dense smoke plumes from forest fires in Kalimantan had been observed drifting towards Singapore, while smoke plumes were also detected in southern Sumatra.
“With the prevailing winds forecast to continue blowing from the south-east to east-southeast, Singapore will likely be affected by smoke haze,” the agency was quoted as saying.
