Tag: haze

Singapore Reiterates Offers Of Assistance To Indonesia To Fight Forest Fires

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (Sep 14) spoke with Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar and reiterated Singapore’s offer of help to combat forest fires, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement. The offer came as the number of hotspots in Indonesia’s Sumatra island soared to a two-month high of 982 on Monday, and a state of emergency has been declared in Riau province.

Indonesia had earlier accepted the Singapore Armed Forces’ offer to send C-130s for cloud seeding and Chinooks for large water buckets to douse fires, only to decline it later. “While the Indonesian authorities accepted our offer of assistance initially, they have since expressed appreciation for the offer, and said they have sufficient resources of their own for now,” Singapore’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

“WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING”: INDONESIAN MINISTER

Dr Siti Nurbaya told Dr Balakrishnan that Indonesia has already deployed a host of resources to tackle the fires but said she would consult Indonesian President Joko Widodo who is personally overseeing the effort again on Singapore’s offer.

“We have deployed soldiers. We have conducted water bombing in Riau with 18 million litres of water, in South Sumatra and Jambi with 12 million liters of water. Cloud-seeding in Riau with 120 tonnes of salt and 56 tonnes of salt in South Sumatra,” Dr Siti Nurbaya said.

“We have done everything. I was trying to convince the minister that we are serious in putting out the fire.”
NEA said Minister Siti Nurbaya agreed to Dr Balakrishnan’s request for Indonesia to share the names of companies which are suspected to be causing the forest fires once they are able to verify this with checks on the ground. She also said she would inform him if there are links for these firms to Singapore.

As of 9pm, the 3-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) is 249 and the 24-hour PSI is 133 – 166. This is the highest 3-hour PSI reading this year.

NEA noted that there was a brief respite in hazy conditions on Monday morning, but haze from Sumatra was again blown in by the prevailing winds in the afternoon.

Thundery showers are expected in the pre-dawn and early morning hours of Tuesday, but NEA said the 24-hour PSI in the next 24 hours is still expected to be the mid to high sections of the Unhealthy range, and may enter the Very Unhealthy range.

WILL A “TOUGH COP” APPROACH PAY OFF?

Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Associate Professor Simon Tay said being a “tough cop” may not be the best approach for Singapore when tackling the transboundary haze issue. NEA on Sunday said it would conduct investigations into the situation.

“I think in any investigation of this nature, the temptation is to say you have to play a really tough cop,” said Mr Tay. “But while the Singapore Government could do that, it probably isn’t the best approach.

“In the end, many of the companies now – the bigger ones in Singapore – have actually put their maps online. They’ve taken steps, they have firefighting equipment that even the provisional officers don’t have. So I would hope, in a sense, that the first response must be cooperation.

“In many of these cases, the companies may claim whether it’s true or not, they didn’t start the fires, the fires came on their land. So I think the first step we can agree on is that, for whoever started these fires, are the companies able and willing to try and put these fires out? Then, and again we have to give them some room because the scale of these fires and the scale of the land won’t make it easy, even if they’re trying their best.”

Under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act which came into effect in 2014, fines of up to S$2 million can be imposed on companies which cause or contribute to haze pollution in Singapore.

Haze pollution is said to have occurred if the 24-hour PSI remains at 101 or higher for 24 hours or longer. NEA said this had taken place from 10am on Sep 10 to 2am on Sep 12 – a full 41 hours.

NEA said it is closely monitoring the hotspots in the region. It is also drawing on information from maps, meteorological data, and satellite imagery in its investigations.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

September 15, 2015
Riau Declares Emergency As Haze Worsens

Indonesia has declared a haze emergency in Sumatra’s Riau province, as the choking smoke surged way past already hazardous levels and forced thousands to flee Pekanbaru, Riau’s capital, which is about 280km away from Singapore.

The deteriorating situation – the result of forest fires in Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra provinces – prompted President Joko Widodo to instruct the police and armed forces chiefs to deploy additional personnel to help combat the haze.

Mr Joko, who is on an official visit to Qatar, also warned in a statement yesterday that the government would take harsh legal action.

“I have also told law enforcers to take stern action against those who are responsible, including confiscating land licences and forestry permits,” he said.

In Singapore, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings hovered within the unhealthy range (101-200) throughout yesterday and are expected to worsen. At 9pm, it ranged between 133 and 166. The three-hour PSI was 249.

Mr Chia Aik Song, an associate scientist with the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing at the National University of Singapore, said that while it was difficult to predict how the haze would develop, he noted that a dry spell would worsen the situation. “As long as there is not enough rain to put out the fires, the threat of unfavourable winds bringing smoke from Sumatra across the Strait of Malacca to Singapore will persist.”

The 24-hour PSI is predicted to be in the mid to high sections of the unhealthy range but may deteriorate into the low section of the very unhealthy range (201-300) today, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday evening. Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan spoke with Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar yesterday afternoon to further express his concern over the haze situation.

According to the NEA, he also reiterated Singapore’s offer of help, which Indonesia has so far declined. Ms Siti said she would consult President Joko again on the offer. She also agreed to share the names of companies suspected of causing the fires when they are confirmed.

Singapore’s Ministry of Education has activated haze management measures and will consider closing all schools if the air quality is at the hazardous level, it said on its website.

In Malaysia, the government has ordered schools in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan to be closed today. Air Pollutant Index readings as of 11pm yesterday showed that air quality in Kuala Selangor had reached a dangerous level of 207, while readings for the rest of Selangor hovered around the 170 range.

Source: www.straittstimesc.com

September 15, 2015
Schools Step Up Measures To Protect Students From Haze

A number of schools have cancelled or moved outdoor activities indoors as the haze situation in Singapore worsens.

At Ang Mo Kio Secondary School, physical education classes were moved into the indoor sports hall when the school reopened yesterday after the September week-long holidays.

Principal Abdul Mannan said the school’s N-level cohort started examinations yesterday in air-conditioned classrooms to shield them from the haze. The school also has air purifiers on standby if the air quality deteriorates further.

Mr Mannan said: “We will try to allocate them to classes with a large number of students who have respiratory issues.”

Many other schools will be taking similar precautions. Education Ministry guidelines state that schools should minimise outdoor activities when air quality is in the unhealthy range, and stop all physical activity when it enters the very unhealthy range.

Air quality is at very unhealthy levels when the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) falls between 201 and 300.

Schools say they are on alert for when the haze hits such levels.

“We are all prepared – we have masks ready for the kids and we have air purifiers,” said Mrs Ruby Seah, principal of the AWWA School for students with special needs.

“If the haze gets worse, we will have to make use of all the air-conditioned rooms, including the meeting rooms.”

At 9pm yesterday, the 24-hour PSI was between 133 and 166. The unhealthy range is 101-200.

Raffles Medical Group, which runs a string of general practitioner clinics, said there has been a 10 to 20 per cent spike in the number of patients with haze-related conditions such as eye or throat irritation.

“The whole spectrum from young children to the elderly are affected,” said Dr Michael Lee, deputy medical director at Raffles Medical.

“The group expects to see more patients seeking treatment in the coming weeks if the haze continues to worsen.”

Pharmacy chains also reported an increase in N95 face mask sales compared with previous months, but said they are unlikely to face a shortage.

Guardian Pharmacy said it has seen a 20 per cent increase in mask sales during the past two weeks, while a Watsons spokesman said its mask sales have gone up by more than 80 per cent.

NTUC Health’s Unity Pharmacy has seen a tenfold increase in the sale of N95 masks, said sales director for wholesale and housebrand Andy Wan.

“In addition, we are also stocking up on other haze-related items such as eye drops, inhalers and medication to relieve throat irritation,” he said.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

September 15, 2015
Vice-President Jusuf Kalla Reminds Singapore And Malaysia To Be Grateful For Fresh Air For Most Of The Year

Jakarta. Vice President Jusuf Kalla has denounced neighboring Singapore and Malaysia for complaining about the severe haze caused every year by Indonesian forest fires. He said he took note of the way the neighboring countries had kept complaining when toxic haze from adjacent areas in Indonesia, Riau in particular, fouled their air.

“For 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us. They have suffered because of the haze for one month and they get upset,” Kalla said on Tuesday.

Environmental group Greenpeace Indonesia reported forest fires in Riau have worsened from 6,644 hotspots in 2011 to 15,112 hotspots in 2013.

Kalla said Indonesia has repeatedly and profoundly apologized for the forest fires and for the inconvenience and pollution the haze caused in neighboring countries.

However, the outspoken vice president has previously sparked controversy when he claimed that foreign technology was behind the forest fires and therefore foreign countries must share the burden of responsibility in dealing with the forest fires.

“Somebody once told me that Indonesia must restore its tropical forests, and I told him, ‘Excuse me? What did you say? Do you know who damaged our forests?’” Kalla added.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BNPD, said the potential economic losses from the fires and haze that took place during the emergency period that ran from Feb. 26 to April 4 last year were estimated at Rp 20 trillion ($1.6 billion).

Nearly 22,000 hectares of land were adversely affected, including 2,400 hectares in biosphere reserves. Nearly six million people were exposed to the haze, and 58,000 people suffered respiratory problems as a result.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com

March 4, 2015
Singapore Writes to Indonesia Expressing “Deep Concern” Over Worsening Haze Situation

SINGAPORE – Air quality in the Republic has worsened, prompting authorities to write to Indonesia expressing “deep concern” over the situation.

A thin veil of grey hung over most areas of Singapore on Friday while the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) – a measure of air quality here – hovered between the high end of the moderate range and the low end of the unhealthy band from the early hours.

At 2pm, the 24-hour PSI across Singapore was in the range of 95 to 103. A reading above 100 refers to unhealthy air quality, in which prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical activity should be reduced.

At moderate levels between 50 and 100, normal activities can still be carried out.

– See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/singapore-writes-indonesia-express-concern-over-haze-20140919#sthash.O7M9Od2O.dpuf

September 19, 2014