Singapore air quality gets a little better on Oct 21, with west still elevated at 68
By 11pm, hourly PM2.5 readings were normal everywhere except the west, and NEA forecast unhealthy air on Thursday with 24-hour PSI of 101 to 160.
Air quality in Singapore got a little better on Wednesday (Oct 21), though the picture was mixed across the island. By 11pm, hourly PM2.5 readings were in the normal range everywhere except the west, according to CNA.
West stayed elevated at 68
Readings in the other four regions ranged from 27 to 54, whereas the west remained elevated at 68. The west had the highest hourly readings for most of the day, apart from 9am, when the central region was higher. Across nearly the whole of Wednesday, normal levels were recorded in the north.
The central region's readings drifted in and out of the normal band from 3am, and its reading for the day peaked at 81 at 9am. The east went into the elevated band at 6pm and returned to normal at 7pm. Normal levels held in the south for much of the day, but at 5pm it moved briefly into the elevated band.
At 11pm, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was still in the unhealthy range in western and central Singapore.
Unhealthy air forecast for Thursday
Air quality is forecast to remain unhealthy on Thursday, with a 24-hour PSI of 101 to 160 expected, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in its advisory issued on Wednesday evening.
Showers are forecast over Singapore and nearby areas on Thursday, but dry conditions are expected to continue over southern Kalimantan. NEA said smoke haze from Kalimantan fires may be carried towards Singapore by east-southeasterly or southeasterly winds.
Southeasterly or south-southeasterly winds on Friday may carry on pushing haze from fires in the region over to Singapore. With dry weather persisting over southern and central Sumatra, a shift to southwest winds on Saturday is expected, and this could carry haze from that island across to Singapore.
Showers fell mainly over the western part of Singapore on Wednesday afternoon, and smoke haze from Kalimantan was spotted near the country. Sumatra also had haze visible above it.
On Monday, earlier in the week, three of the five regions saw PSI readings drop into the moderate range, which had not happened in over a week. The previous moderate reading was on Oct 9.
