Regional dry spell raises haze threat

SINGAPORE — The regionwide dry spell will not affect Singapore’s water supply yet, but a threat may be looming in the form of the haze.

Yesterday, Indonesia’s meteorological agency warned that Singapore may soon be choking on the same haze that has cloaked Riau province for nearly a month as wind directions change.

However, the prediction was at odds with the forecast of the Republic’s National Environment Agency (NEA). In an advisory, NEA said the prevailing north-easterly winds will keep the haze from Sumatra away from Singapore over the next few days.

It added that Singapore may experience occasional slight haze due to the accumulation of particulate matter under stable atmospheric conditions, particularly in the morning.

The NEA said the total number of hot spots detected in Sumatra yesterday increased to 138 from 62 on Thursday, with more than half of the new hot spots detected in Riau province.

Earlier this month, forest fires began to burn in Riau, growing to cover nearly 6,000ha at their peak, prompting Riau Governor Annas Maamun to declare a State of Emergency on Wednesday. The situation worsened yesterday, with visibility dropping to about 500m, local reports said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the National Disaster Management Agency to tackle the haze in Riau province.

Mr Sugarin, Head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau, told the Indonesian news portal Republika Online: “The wind, which was previously blowing from the north and the east to the south, is starting to turn to the opposite direction, so there’s a possibility that the haze will blow to Singapore.”

Despite prolonged dry spell, S’pore will be all right: Balakrishnan

Meanwhile, as the dry spell here continues, Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan has reassured that Singapore will be “all right” no matter how long the dry weather lasts, be it weeks or months. Yet, everyone must do his or her part to conserve water, he said.

He stressed that while the Republic can count its blessings, with its technological investments in water sustainability paying off, water is not a limitless resource.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of National Junior College’s annual road run, Dr Balakrishnan said he has received some feedback to conduct a water rationing exercise. But he said: “I told them I would consider it. But at this point in time, fortunately, we don’t need to do it. Our backs are not against the wall and we are not going to rush into a thing like that.”

He added: “Let’s focus on education, on passing the message (on conservation) and all of us doing our own part. That would be sufficient for now.”

Dr Balakrishnan, who noted that the dry weather is expected to continue for at least two or three weeks or possibly even longer, said there are no plans to raise water tariffs at the moment, as Singapore has an additional buffer in the form of desalination and NEWater — sources that are not dependent on the weather.

Still, with no end to the dry spell in sight, national water agency PUB has sent out advisories on reducing water usage to 25,000 non-domestic users, including town councils, schools and commercial building owners. With Singapore registering a record dry spell of 27 days over the past two months, PUB has embarked on a water conservation campaign even as it regularly spreads the message on the importance of saving water.

PUB has visited and issued circulars to 385 households as of the middle of last month to help residents adopt good water-saving habits and prevent water wastage during the dry weather under its Water Efficient Home programme.

Average water consumption has increased slightly by about 15 million gallons per day (mgd) for the past two months, an amount equivalent to 27 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Since the start of the dry spell in January, the PUB has been running the desalination and NEWater plants at maximum capacity, producing 100mgd and 117mgd, respectively. Combined, these two sources make up 55 per cent of the Republic’s water needs.

To keep the reservoirs’ water levels healthy, the agency has increased the amount of NEWater it is pumping into them to 35mgd from 30mgd since last week.

On the impact of the dry spell on the greenery, Dr Balakrishnan noted that the National Parks Board is focusing its attention only on heritage trees. He added: “As far as the grass is concerned, we’ll have to let it go brown, we can’t afford to pour potable water just to keep our lawns looking green.”

Meanwhile, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it has contacted vegetable farmers who had earlier voiced worries over the effect of the dry weather on their crops. AVA said it understands that the farmers are coping with the weather conditions.