Haze Spikes Briefly on Sunday Night: Whole Island Tips into Unhealthy Range, Central Reading Peaks at 136
SINGAPORE — The haze produced a brief night-time spike on Sunday, October 4: between 9 p.m. and midnight, air across the whole island tipped into the unhealthy range, with the central region peaking at a reading of 136. Daytime readings had hovered between 73 and 96. The night surge, driven by shifting winds and the position of the smoke plume, marks another notable point in this haze episode.
The week's trajectory tells the story: on October 1 the 24-hour PSI stood between 60 and 73, with 1-hour PM2.5 at just 17–32 micrograms per cubic metre; on October 2 it rose to 63–79; on October 3 the central region crossed into unhealthy territory at 105; on October 4 it eased back to 73–96 by day, then spiked island-wide at night. The National Environment Agency (NEA) had warned in its Friday-evening advisory that moderate to dense smoke plumes from southern Sumatra would keep drifting towards Singapore on southeasterly winds, alongside haze from Kalimantan fires.
The NEA said dry conditions were expected to persist over Singapore and the surrounding region, and the hotspots in southern Sumatra and Kalimantan would not be extinguished quickly. As long as winds stay from the southeast or east-southeast, smoke from across the strait will keep arriving; the forecast 24-hour PSI sits in the high-moderate to mid-unhealthy range.
This week brings a dense run of conferences and the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix weekend (October 9–11), with tens of thousands of visitors spending long hours outdoors. The FIA said this week it is monitoring air quality closely with local authorities. Daily haze changes will continue to be published on the NEA's haze.gov.sg microsite and the myENV app.
Sources: Compiled from Batam News Asia's report citing The Straits Times and NEA readings, and Travel and Tour World's compilation of the NEA's daily figures.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：烟霾笼罩下的新加坡市中心天际线（资料图）。摄影：SpLoT，CC BY 2.5，来源：Wikimedia Commons
