Haze level hits all-time high Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:12:56 SINGAPORE — The worsening haze from the Sumatra forest fires caused air quality here to plunge last night to hazardous levels for the first time, with the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading soaring to an all-time high of 321 at 10pm. While the situation eased later into the night, the authorities here expected it to worsen overnight and the 24-hour PSI reading today could go above 200. The Ministry of Health yesterday asked hospitals, which were already seeing a rise in complaints of haze-related ailments, to prepare for a spike in the number of cases of asthma, bronchitis and conjunctivitis. The seriousness of the situation led Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan to call a press conference at 11.30pm, where he announced several measures that could be taken if the situation does not improve. The inter-agency Haze Task Force has been activated and among the steps being contemplated are for the Ministry of Manpower to introduce stop-work orders, schools, childcare centres and sports complexes to shut. Writing on Facebook at about 1.15am, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the Cabinet had “discussed the haze situation fully” when it met yesterday afternoon. But as the haze has worsened, he would be meeting the relevant ministers again “first thing (today)”. Mr Lee added that he would brief the media after the meeting. Mr Lee said: “Meanwhile, if the PSI reading stays high, please stay indoors where possible and avoid heavy outdoor activities. Look out for one another — we will get through this together.” Last night, the deteriorating visibility caused traffic to slow. Organisations and companies also swung into action, disseminating information to the public. The Singapore Armed Forces said on its Facebook page last night that it has “ceased all outfield training until further notice to ensure the well-being and safety” of soldiers. Those on duty were also issued N95 masks, it said. Some companies also told their staff that if the severe haze continues today, they can work from home. Fast food chain McDonald’s announced that it was suspending its delivery services indefinitely. Yesterday morning, the PSI reading hovered under unhealthy levels before surging steadily in the afternoon. Singaporeans across the island — hundreds of whom were still trying to make their way home after being stranded by a disruption along a section of the North East Line — were stunned when the PSI reading shot up by 100 points between 8pm and 9pm to hit 290, which is a shade under the hazardous level. The level was breached an hour later, as the Republic recorded its worse bout of haze in history — overtaking the 1997 episode when the PSI reading reached a high of 226. A total of 173 hotspots were detected yesterday, after 187 were detected on Tuesday. Dr Balakrishnan signalled that Government would adopt a tougher line against errant companies that are burning tracts of land in Sumatra by publishing high resolution pictures. These pictures, which would be updated daily by the NEA, would include the coordinates of the hotspots. Said Dr Balakrishnan: “Our hope is that (by) publishing the coordinates of the hotspots, we will allow for crowdsourcing and identification of the companies.” Adding that the Government would be “completely transparent in the management of this crisis”, he said that the NEA would also be publishing the Air Quality Index, which is usually used by the Environment Protection Agency in the United States. “In any case if anyone wants to use any index, because we provide the raw data, they can do so,” he said. Nevertheless, Dr Balakrishnan warned that there was little chance of the situation improving anytime soon, saying the only way this would happen was for rain to fall and the wind direction to change. The chances of this happening were, however, slim, he said. The method to overcome the situation is “by working very hard with Indonesians - get them to do right thing”, Dr Balakrishnan said. He added that National Environment Agency Chief Executive Office Andrew Tan will be leading a delegation to Jakarta today for an emergency haze meeting convened by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. The ministers from the region will also be meeting in the Indonesian capital “soon”, Dr Balakrishnan said. “We expect to arrive at further agreement on concrete steps which we hope nations will take,” he added. Describing it as the “worst haze we have seen”, Dr Balakrishnan said that adjustments in Singaporeans’ daily lives must be made. “This is an unprecedented situation... we have to be prepared to do more if the situation worsens,” he said. Dr Balakrishnan said the Government would “ensure that we have more than adequate facilities to deal with the anticipated increase” of cases of haze-related ailments. In a statement, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong reiterated that his ministry was “working closely with the hospitals and polyclinics to monitor the attendances of patients, especially among those who suffer from heart and respiratory illnesses”. The MOH advised Singaporeans to limit prolonged or heavy outdoor activities. In particular, children, the elderly and those with heart or lung diseases. should avoid outdoor activities and seek medical treatment early if they feel unwell. Since the latest bout of haze hit last Friday, hospitals have been seeing more patients with asthma or other respiratory problems At National University Hospital, about 1 in 10 patients at the Emergency Department had sought asthma treatment in the last few days, compared to the usual rate of 1 in 15. Changi General Hospital said that its respiratory medicine specialists have seen an increase in symptoms among patients with chronic respiratory conditions. On Tuesday, about 80 per cent of patients at its Respiratory Specialist Clinic who came for routine checkups were diagnosed with more symptoms than usual, “with complaints such as coughing and breathlessness”, said Dr Augustine Tee, who heads CGH’s Respiratory Medicine Department. ADDITIONAL
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:18:06 +0000
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