Haze is set to hang over Singapore this weekend. The National Environment Agency (NEA) forecasts a 24-hour PSI of 90 to 140 for Saturday (24 October), spanning the moderate and unhealthy bands.
Air quality this morning
NEA’s 6am readings on Saturday, published on data.gov.sg at 6.15am, put the 24-hour PSI at 112 to 139 across the island, all in the unhealthy range. The west read 139, the central region 130, the east 115, and the north and south 112 each.
The one-hour PM2.5 readings at 6am ranged from 72 in the east to 115 in the west. The central region read 81, the south 76 and the north 75. At 6pm on Friday, the one-hour PM2.5 was 70 to 98 and the 24-hour PSI 85 to 108, so the air has worsened overnight.
NEA expects winds to turn southwest or west from Sunday, which may help to ease the haze.
Collecting free masks
The second round of mask collection is under way. Singaporeans aged 60 and above can collect two masks. Those who were eligible in the first round can collect two more, and anyone eligible who never collected can take four.
Masks are available at community centres and vending machines, and stock levels are shown at go.gov.sg/hazemask. A proxy can collect with the recipient’s NRIC. Pregnant women, children aged seven to 16 and people with medical conditions must collect at community centres, not vending machines.
Help with clinic bills
The Ministry of Health’s Haze Subsidy Scheme helps eligible patients with haze-related conditions pay less at participating clinics, which display the scheme poster.
Events called off or moved
Several weekend runs have been cancelled because of the haze, including the GEWR, the POSB PAssion Run and the Half Marathon. The SGRC run has been moved indoors to Marina Square. NEA updates the PSI and PM2.5 readings every hour on haze.gov.sg.
