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Haze threat recedes as wet season commences

SINGAPORE — The threat of serious haze appears to have been averted for the rest of the year, with the onset of the Inter-Monsoon season over the past week signalling the end of the traditional dry period in the region.

A man is seen donning a mask to protect himself from the haze as he walks along the Marina Bay Sands Waterfront Promenade at 5:30pm on Oct 6, 2014. Photo: Ooi Boon Keong

A man is seen donning a mask to protect himself from the haze as he walks along the Marina Bay Sands Waterfront Promenade at 5:30pm on Oct 6, 2014. Photo: Ooi Boon Keong

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SINGAPORE — The threat of serious haze appears to have been averted for the rest of the year, with the onset of the Inter-Monsoon season over the past week signalling the end of the traditional dry period in the region.

The Inter-Monsoon period normally lasts from October to November, and is characterised by more rainfall and light winds that are variable in direction, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.

“The likelihood of transboundary haze affecting Singapore for the rest of the year will thus be low, said the Meteorological Service Singapore,” the NEA added.

With the improvement in the haze situation, the NEA said it will stop issuing the daily haze forecast and health advisory from today.

It will continue to provide hourly air quality readings from 7am to 11pm on its websites and the myENV mobile application. The readings from midnight to 6am will be made available at 7am on the same day.

The NEA said it will continue to monitor the weather and haze situation in the region, and update the public when necessary.

In the coming weeks, Singapore and the surrounding region can expect more rain. The increased rainfall will help alleviate the hot spot and haze situation in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

“During this period, Singapore may experience occasional slight haze, mainly in the morning, on some days due to the accumulation of particulate matter in the air under light wind conditions,” the NEA said.

“The haze situation is expected to improve further with the onset of the rainy season brought by the North-east Monsoon in early December.”

The NEA said that, based on the forecasts from most global climate models, a weak El Nino is still likely to develop towards the end of the year or early next year.

“However, past El Nino events that form at that time of the year have been shown to have less impact on rainfall patterns in Singapore and the nearby region,” the agency added.

Compared with last year when the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit an all-time high of 401, the Republic has been spared from hazardous haze levels so far this year. On Oct 6, the PSI reached 153 — the highest reading since the air quality reporting was tweaked in April to incorporate levels of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5.

The NEA said the total number of hot spots detected yesterday in Sumatra and Kalimantan was 25 and 52 respectively, and that smoke haze was visible in southern Kalimantan.

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