Air quality in most of Singapore unhealthy as haze persists; PSI in west ‘very unhealthy’

SINGAPORE – The air quality across the island remained poor early on Oct 18, with the 24-hour PSI continuing to lie in the unhealthy range islandwide, except in the west, where the reading of 228 put it in the “very unhealthy” band.   

At 7am on Oct 18, the PSI readings in the other regions stood at 129 in the north, 173 in the south, 180 in the east and 185 in the central region.

Air quality is considered “unhealthy” when the PSI – a 24-hour rolling average of six key air pollutants – is in the range of 101 to 200, and “very unhealthy” when it is in the range of 201 to 300.

The one-hour PM2.5 readings – measured in micrograms per cubic metre – were all in the elevated range at 7am on Oct 18: north (78), south (99), east (103), west (125) and central (124).

PM2.5 scores from 0 to 55 represent normal values, those between 56 and 150 indicate an elevated concentration of fine particles, while readings between 151 and 250 are considered high and scores above 251 are classified as very high.

The highest PSI reading this haze season – 229 – was recorded from 3pm to 4pm in the central region on Oct 16.

The highest PM2.5 reading so far in 2026 was recorded at 3pm on Oct 14 in the western part of the island at 288.

Singapore is in its 14th consecutive day of unhealthy air since Oct 5 – the longest continuous stretch of poor air quality the country has endured since the 2015 haze crisis. That year, bad air lasted 14 days from Sept 23 to Oct 7.

In its daily haze advisory on the evening of Oct 17, the National Environment Agency forecast that the PSI for could lie between 150 and 220, putting it in the “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” ranges.

Showers are expected over Singapore and the surrounding region on Oct 18.

“Winds are forecast to shift to blow from the south-south-east or south, which may reduce the transport of smoke haze from Kalimantan to Singapore. However, some smoke haze from Sumatra may drift towards Singapore,” the agency said.

More showers are also forecast over Singapore and parts of Kalimantan on Oct 19 and 20, it added.

It said that the winds are expected to gradually weaken and blow from the south-east or south, which could further decrease the movement of smoke haze from Kalimantan to Singapore.