Air pollution in Singapore caused by Indonesian forest fires

Air quality was unhealthy at several locations in the country Friday, according to Department of Environment measurements.

A Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading above 100 is defined as “unhealthy”, according to Singapore government guidelines.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said of the Indonesian forest fires.

Smog caused by slash-and-burn agriculture in Indonesia is continuing to foul air quality as far away as Singapore, with readings in some parts of Sumatra island deemed “very unhealthy”. To deal with the issue, Singapore has registered its “deep concern ” with the deteriorating haze situation to Indonesia, and has offered help earlier this week.

Speaking at a Toa Payoh polling station, Dr Ng said that on Cooling-off Day on Thursday, he had called his counterpart in Indonesia, who accepted the offer.

The haze was largely a result of fire used to burn bushes on Sumatra so that the land can be utilized for agricultural purposes. The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) have placed on standby a C-130 aircraft for cloud-seeding operations, a Chinook helicopter with a water bucket for aerial fire-fighting, and up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry the Singapore Civil Defence Force fire-fighting assistance team. “We have to find some way of bringing down the problem and I’m glad the Indonesian authorities are looking at it”.

Indonesia has said it will send more than 10,000 troops to fight fires in southern Sumatra.