More outdoor events cancelled as haze lingers

SINGAPORE — With the haze showing no signs of retreating from unhealthy or very unhealthy levels, more organisers were forced to cancel or postpone outdoor events today (Oct 1).

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said air quality is expected to span the high end of the unhealthy range, to around the mid-section of the very unhealthy range tomorrow, and may get worse if the wind blows denser haze in from parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan that are burning.

The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index was 149 to 190 (at the higher end of the unhealthy range) at 9pm today. The 1-hour PM2.5 level, which measures fine particulate matter, was 61 to 101 microgrammes per cubic metre.

Saturday’s edition of Pedestrian Night — an initiative to enliven the Orchard Road shopping stretch by closing part of it to vehicular traffic every first Saturday of each month — is off, announced the Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) today on its Facebook page.

The cancellation was out of consideration for the health and safety of employees, visitors and all street performers, ORBA said. Pedestrian Night promotions and shopping deals in malls will still be on offer to shoppers, who are advised to stay indoors and take the necessary precautions.

Instead, the stretch between the junction of Scotts and Paterson roads, and the junction of Orchard and Bideford roads will remain open to vehicles from 6pm to 11pm. Pedestrian Night is scheduled to take place again on Nov 7.

Another event scheduled for next Saturday was also postponed today. Diner en Blanc, a picnic where participants dress in white, will take place at a later date because of the haze, its organisers said on Facebook.

Entry passes and e-store items that have been purchased will remain valid for the rescheduled event and refunds will be processed on a case-by-case basis, with instructions to be provided when the new date is confirmed.

The organisers apologised for the inconvenience caused. Last year’s edition of Diner en Blanc was held in July at Sentosa’s Tanjong Beach and attended by about 3,000 people.

Earlier this week, the Spring Wave 2015 music festival that was to be held next Saturday at Fort Canning Green was also cancelled by organiser Friendly Dog Entertainment.

In a separate media advisory today, the NEA said rainfall for the first two weeks of October is likely to be below normal, with southwest monsoon conditions forecast to prevail. Short, thundery showers are likely on four to six days, mostly in the late morning and afternoon. Rainfall in September was below average in most parts of Singapore.