SINGAPORE - Singapore has offered help to Indonesia again as air quality remained in the unhealthy range on Monday (Sept 14) following a hazy weekend.
The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) at 11pm was between 128 and 160. The unhealthy range is 101-200.
The three-hour PSI, an indicative reading not tied to the health advisory, was 181 at 11pm. It reached 249 at 9pm before declining slightly.
NEA said on Monday (Sept 14) hazy conditions are expected to persist on Monday and Tuesday.
Air quality could deteriorate as unfavourable winds may blow in denser haze from Sumatra.
Thundery showers are forecast in the pre-dawn and early morning hours may bring only a short respite.
The 24-hour PSI until 6pm on Tuesday is expected to be in the mid-to-high unhealthy range, and may enter the "very unhealthy" range if denser haze from Sumatra is blown in, said NEA.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has expressed his concern over the serious haze situation and has reiterated Singapore's offer of help to Indonesia, NEA said.
Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Dr Siti Nurbaya Bakar has said they will consult Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Singapore's offer as the latter is personally overseeing the haze containment efforts.
Minister Siti Nurbaya also agreed to Minister Balakrishnan's request for Indonesia to share the names of companies which are suspected to be causing the fires, once they were able to confirm the information, NEA said.
Several outdoor events were either postponed or cancelled over the weekend due to the haze.
Given the air quality forecast in Singapore, healthy people should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion, especially the elderly, pregnant women and children. Updates are available on www.haze.gov.sg, NEA's website, its Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Across the Causeway, unhealthy air quality was recorded on Monday morning in places such as Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
In Indonesia, 14 helicopters on Monday were dumping water on blazes on western Sumatra island and the Indonesian part of Borneo island and "cloud-seeding", which involves using chemicals to induce rain, the country's disaster agency said.
