Haze: PSI for the next 24 hours expected to be in moderate range

SINGAPORE — Air quality over the next 24 hours is expected to be “moderate”, where the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) ranges between 51 and 100, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) in its haze update issued at about 5.40pm on Monday (Aug 29).

The one-hour PM2.5 concentration over the next 24 hours is expected to stay in Band I (Normal).

The NEA said haze conditions improved on Monday morning as the “prevailing winds gradually strengthened to blow from the south”. There were also showers over parts of Singapore in the late morning and afternoon. Thundery showers are expected on Tuesday morning as well.

As at 5pm on Monday, the 24-hour PSI reading was 65 to 95, in the moderate range, and the one-hour PM2.5 was 12µg/m3 to 19µg/m3, in Band I (Normal). The three-hour PSI was 53.

Only one hotspot was detected in Sumatra on Monday, due to cloud cover. “Showers over parts of central Sumatra today have helped to reduce the extent of the haze there. Some haze was still observed over the Strait of Malacca,” said the NEA.

Given the air quality forecast for the next 24 hours, everyone can continue with normal activities, said the NEA. Persons who are not feeling well, especially the elderly and children, and those with chronic heart or lung conditions, should seek medical attention.