Haze in Singapore: Air quality improves overnight with ‘normal’ PM2.5 readings across the island
Hourly PM2.5 readings have been in the "normal" range for all five regions since 1am on Oct 22.
Singapore's air quality experienced an overnight improvement, with hourly PM2.5 readings returning to "normal" levels across the island, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA). The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) levels also remained in the "good to moderate" range for most regions, except for the western region, which recorded "unhealthy" figures.
PM2.5 readings, which measure fine particle pollution, were recorded at 32 in the central region, 36 in the west, 37 in the east, 40 in the south, and 38 in the north at 6am on Oct 22. Air quality levels are categorized as "good to moderate" when the PSI is between 0 and 100, and "unhealthy" when it ranges from 101 to 200. The highest PM2.5 reading during the current haze season was 288 in the western part of the island on Oct 14, while the highest 24-hour PSI reading was 230 in the western region on Oct 18, placing it in the "very unhealthy" range.
The NEA had previously warned of unhealthy air quality on Oct 22, with PSI levels expected to range from 101 to 160 due to showers in western Singapore and smoke haze from Kalimantan. Air quality is anticipated to remain dry over the southern parts of Kalimantan, with smoke haze potentially drifting towards Singapore on Oct 23 due to prevailing wind patterns.
On Oct 24, winds are expected to shift towards the southwest, which may result in smoke haze originating from Sumatra drifting towards Singapore, given the expected dry conditions in southern and central Sumatra. Singapore is currently experiencing its 18th day of unhealthy air, surpassing the 14-day stretch during the 2015 haze crisis.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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