Crowds at open-air diners, parks thin out as air quality deteriorates on Sept 19

SINGAPORE - It was not a typical Saturday for popular East Coast Lagoon Food Village and parks here when air quality deteriorated on Sept 19. 

Crowds thinned out as people stayed home to avoid breathing in transboundary smoke blown inland from regional forest and peatland fires in neighbouring Indonesia.

On Sept 19, air quality readings in parts of Singapore crossed into the unhealthy region again after a few days of respite, with the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in the central region exceeding 100 from the afternoon.

As at 5pm, the 24-hr PSI was 80 to 108, in the moderate to unhealthy range, said the National Environment Agency. 

When The Straits Times visited the open-air East Coast Lagoon Food Village at 4pm, there were few people queuing for food and several empty tables, a stark contrast to the bustling crowds seen on a typical weekend. 

Ragamatthulla, 48, better known as Rahman, who runs Adigun Curry Claypot said: “By now, the dinner crowd would have started building up. But there are a lot of empty seats today.”

He added: “With this kind of weather, who wants to come out? This is especially for people with kids.”

Roy Tan, 38, who works at the hawker centre’s drink stall, also observed the drop in footfall on Friday and Saturday.

“I hope the weather will improve and business will pick up soon,” he said.

Some East Coast Park goers were seen wearing masks. People who often hang out in the area said that this was less than the usual crowd.

Mohammad Hafiq, 37, who went to the beach with his wife, said they decided to stick to earlier plans to let their 10 month-old daughter experience the seaside for the first time but will leave if the air quality worsens.

“We just want to let our daughter have her first experience at the beach. We will take more precautions once we can smell the haze,” he said.

At Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, a daily morning qigong session for residents aged 50 and above has been suspended for the past week due to the haze. The session typically draws 10 to 20 attendees, and more on weekends.

Since the haze hit Singapore in September, the organisers have been sending daily messages to the participants to confirm if the session is proceeding.

One of the participants said she hopes that the weather can improve soon so the activities are no longer cancelled at the last minute.

But the participants may need to hold their breath. NEA’s advisory on Sept 19 said that dry conditions continued and are expected to persist over Kalimantan and southern Sumatra. 

“Smoke plumes from fires in these areas were observed drifting towards Singapore,” the agency said in a statement at 6pm.

“There is a risk of smoke haze affecting Singapore as the prevailing winds are expected to blow from the east-southeast or southeast. The 24-hr PSI for Singapore is forecast to be in the high-moderate to mid-unhealthy range.”