Haze in Singapore

 

The atmosphere seems to be foggy lately but the air is hot and humid. And there’s this lingering smell of smoke and burnt matters in the air.

And for those, like me, who had been wondering what’s happening in Singapore lately, the grey blury-smokey-cloud-like enveloping most parts of the country,  I’d tell you this.  The haze is back – AGAIN!   And it’s here to haunt us once more.  No doubt.  Now i know  why I’m having difficulty breathing – again!  Darn, my asthma might come back if the air won’t improve (sigh …  my husband advised me to wear a mask but I have yet to buy a mask 😦 )

A boat carrying tourists passes in front of the haze shrouded Marina Bay Sands casino and resort in Singapore's Marina Bay area. --PHOTO: REUTERS (taken from straitstimes.com)

 

The haze reached above PSI index 80 and enveloped West Coast Park. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN (courtesy of http://www.straitstimes.com)

 

This thick fog-like smog has blanketed Singapore since Saturday (October 16), resulting to poor visibility, causing the air to be still and stale,  and filling the atmosphere with choking acrid burning smell that is irritating to my nose, discomforting to my eyes, making me feel queasy, aggravating my migraine, and worse of all, God-forbid, is triggering my asthma.  And I think the haze situation is getting worse everyday despite the improvements shown/claimed on the news yesterday and early today. 

There’s no need for the public to panic (yet) nor flee the country (yet), for those who are planning to, coz everything is still under control (hhhhhmmm… scratching chin :-?).  The Singapore government haven’t issued any health advisory against the haze (yet) since the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) stood at 80 on Wednesday night. PSI is a measure of the air quality in Singapore over a period of 24 hours.  A PSI reading of 0-50 means the air quality is in the good range; 51-100 moderate range and 101-200 unhealthy range.  So a PSI 80 is still considered in the moderate range so there’s no special precautions needed to be taken so far.   (source: www.nea.gov.sg  and  http://www.straitstimes.com )  

That was last Wednesday.

As of 5PM today, The National Environment Agency (NEA) announced that the 3-hour PSI has crossed the unhealthy range with a reading of 108 and goes down to 103 later at around 8PM (source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com and http://www.straitstimes.com)  That is alarming.  The haze is getting worse. At PSI 108 or 103 the air at those ranges are considered  “unhealthy” and unbreathable and as the reading goes up the more hazardous and dangerous it gets.

“Persons with existing heart or respiratory ailments should reduce physical exertion and outdoor activity. The general population should reduce vigorous outdoor activity,” the National Environment Agency advised the public on its website (source: www.nea.gov.sg)     The agency further explained that the haze can also cause eye irritation, sneezing or coughing among individuals, healthy or not.

What’s causing the haze in Singapore?  

This is the season of the year for Indonesia’s annual slash-and-burn farming, called Ladang.  Ladang  is similar to the Philipine’s “Kaingin” system, where they turn forested mountains/areas to agricultural land, cutting and burning trees and grasses in the process.  Indonesian farmers burn-off the previous season’s crop waste, grasses and any regrowth to clear the area and make it suitable for farming.  This Ladang farming  is causing the smoke haze which not only affects Singapore, but also parts of Malaysia and Thailand.

Blame that also to the directionality of the wind  that is blowing the smog over, straight to Singapore.  As posted on the  NEA website, “The prevailing southwesterly to westerly winds have brought in some smoke haze from the fires in Sumatra. And as of October 19, Tuesday, there are  202 hotspots that had been detected in Sumatra, mainly in the provinces of South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau”. (source: www.nea.gov.sg)  

The rain this morning had not help dissipate the haze.  It left me wondering what could possibly be the a good solution for this haze problem?

Quick-fix suggestions:

1)     Buy mask. Wear mask.

2)     Stay at home and don’t get out of the house.

3)     Stay in your offices and don’t go home.

4)    Spend all day at an air-conditioned mall.

5)    Go out of the country on holiday and come back when the haze is gone.

Which one would you choose?  I’m undecided but I’d go with number 1 first and foremost. 

For the long-term solution?   Maybe, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand leaders can demand or even pressure, Indonesian government for a stricter implementation and execution of the anti-haze agreement, for a start :-).

What more can be done?  Well, we just have to leave that with the Singapore government.  I’m sure they’d be able to come up with a permanent solution to curb this perennial problem.

As of this posting, I really find it hard to breathe.  I feel asphyxiated.  Right now, I am already wearing a mask inside the house and I will wear it when I go to work tomorrow or wherever I go from now on until the haze is gone(good thing Ais has a stock of mask, thanks to her) And no thanks to the haze I won’t be able to do my usual walk-run-jog routine.  I’d be stuck at home for until who-knows-when.

– Sharosem (21October2010)