SINGAPORE - With air quality here hovering in or near the unhealthy range, the National Taxi Association (NTA) has stepped up to help taxi drivers cope with the haze.

A care package, which includes one N95 mask, two surgical masks and a bottle of eyedrops, were distributed to some 1,000 taxi drivers at Changi Airport on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Ang Hin Kee, Member of Parliament (Ang Mo Kio GRC) and adviser to the National Taxi Association, accompanied about 20 volunteers from the association to make rounds at the taxi stands of all three terminals.

The association spent about $3,000 on the kits, which were given out to help drivers better prepare for rising levels of smoke haze.

The decision to distribute the kits was a last minute one made after Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings crossed the 100 mark into the unhealthy range on Thursday morning, said vice-president of the association Harry Ng.

The three-hour PSI) had crossed into the unhealthy range at 9am on Thursday morning, with a reading of 100.

The 24-hour PSI did so at 4pm, with readings ranging from 95 to 101.