Air in central Singapore remains unhealthy, PSI in western and eastern regions dips to moderate

SINGAPORE – The air quality in the west of Singapore stood at 102 on the PSI on the morning of Sept 5, making it the third region in the country to record unhealthy levels of pollutants since Sept 4.

At 7am, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) stood at 119 in the Central region, with the reading for the East dipping to 99 and West at 102.

The reading for the North (85) and South (88) remained in the moderate range.

Air quality is considered unhealthy when the PSI is in the range of 101 to 200, during which the National Environment Agency (NEA) advises the public to cut down on outdoor activities.

The West crossed the 101 threshold at approximately midnight, checks by The Straits Times showed.

The PSI for the East had moved into the unhealthy level at about 9pm on Sept 4 where it had remained before dipping at 7am on Sept 5.

The Sept 5 PSI reading means the Central region of Singapore has now had unhealthy levels of pollutants in the air for over a day.

The last time the PSI hit unhealthy levels due to haze was in October 2023.

In a Sept 4 advisory, the NEA said the haze could persist till Sept 5, with air quality forecast to be between the higher end of the moderate and the middle of the unhealthy range.

The agency said smoke plumes from fires in the southern and central parts of Sumatra and various parts of Kalimantan were observed to be drifting towards Singapore.

As dry conditions are forecast for the coming days, Singapore may continue to be affected by transboundary haze if the wind direction remains unchanged as the fires persist.