Haze is back in Singapore and it will worsen.

Hazy conditions expected to persist

In an update by the National Environment Agency on Sep. 14 evening, the agency explained that the confluence of winds in the nearby region have carried more smoke haze from Sumatra to Singapore.

The 24-hour PSI has tipped to the Unhealthy range, between 87 and 106 at 5pm.

The 1-hour PM2.5 concentration has increased to elevated level at 77-133 µg/m3.

The prevailing winds are expected to continue to come from the south-southeast or south-southwest directions, which means more haze to come for the rest of the day.

A spike in hotspots in Indonesia

Besides the wind conditions, the number of hotspots in Indonesia detected on Saturday has almost tripled.

A total of 450 hotspots were detected mostly in the Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra provinces as compared to 156 hotspots detected on Friday.

Dense haze from these areas was carried to Singapore, resulting in the worsened air quality.

For the next 24 hours, NEA expects the 24-hour PSI to range between high end of the Moderate range (51- 100) and low end of the Unhealthy range (101 - 200).

The PSI level may enter the middle of the Unhealthy range if denser haze gets blown over to Singapore.

Top photo by @JessAzure