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Haze in S'pore hits three-month high


UPDATE

The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading hit a high of 62 at 4pm on Monday.

The figure, recorded on the National Environment Agency (NEA) website, surpassed Sunday's 3-month record of 55.

At 7pm on Monday, the three-hour PSI reading had also steadily risen through the day to hit a high of 69.

The three-hour reading shows the average PSI reading taken from the three hours preceding the time at which the reading is recorded (i.e. at 7pm, the reading of 69 was recorded from an average of readings taken at 4pm, 5pm and 6pm).

On Sunday, the 24-hour PSI crossed into the moderate range with a reading of 55. The last time the PSI was this high was on 2 June, when it reached 56.

Residents from the West and the Marina Bay area have reported hazy skies and the smell of smoke in the air.

Clementi resident Lee Yen Lee complained of breathing discomfort due to the haze. She said," I walked from home to the mall outside my house and my nose started to be runny."

Yahoo! Singapore reader Halijah commented that the haze was very bad at Marine Parade. She said, "It was very hazy and I hardly could breathe when going out just now."

She added that even though it was best that people stayed indoors, she said, "We still have to work and the children still need to go to school."

Another Yahoo! Singapore user James said, "With F1 around the corner, we should not let the haze derail the plan. It may affect the drivers and the crowd coming."

NEA had said in a statement on Friday that south-eastern winds had kept smoke away from Singapore despite an increase in hot spot activities in Sumatra.

But it also added that Singapore could experience brief periods of slightly hazy conditions should fires in the region persist and if the winds blow from the south.

NEA has detected scattered hotspots with slight to moderate smoke haze mainly over the central and southern parts of Sumatra. The Southwest Monsoon season from June to September is a traditionally dry season for southern parts of Southeast Asia, resulting in haze spreading from forest fires. 

Over the last decade in Singapore, the PSI has hit the "unhealthy" range -- a reading above 100 -- on three occasions: 1997, 2006 and 2010.

The highest PSI ever recorded here was in 1997 when it reached 226.