Haze may return to Singapore, more hotspots detected in Indonesia

The National Environment Agency (NEA) says Singapore may experience hazy conditions in the coming days. Over the next two days, NEA said dry weather conditions were expected to persist in most parts of Sumatra. "Should there be a change in the wind direction from the west, Singapore may experience hazy conditions," the agency said. NEA will provide further haze alerts to the public if these events become more likely. It said the number of hotspots in Sumatra as tracked by the NOAA 18 satellite had gone up sharply in the last two days to reach 159 on Saturday. "Of these hotspots, 63 are detected in the Riau province in central Sumatra, which is about 280 km from Singapore. "Some localised smoke plumes are observed to emanate from the hotspots. "The other hotspots on the island are primarily further north, in Acheh and North Sumatra. "As the winds are currently from the southeast or south, the smoke haze is not being blown towards Singapore at this time," the NEA said. It also noted that some states in Peninsular Malaysia have been experiencing a deterioration in their air quality since late morning yesterday with the highest Air Pollutant Index reading at 5am today being 98 in Bukit Rambai, Malacca. As at noon Sunday in Singapore, the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was at 20, while the 24-hour PSI was between 19 and 33.