New pollution record as haze chokes Singapore

Pollution levels reached a new record high for a third day in a row in Singapore, as smoky haze from fires in Indonesia shrouded the city state. Many stores have run out of face masks amid soaring demand. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit 401 at 12:00 on Friday (04:00 GMT) – the highest in the country’s history. A PSI reading above 300 is defined as “hazardous”, while Singapore government guidelines say a PSI reading of above 400 over 24 hours “may be life threatening to ill and elderly persons”.

The haze is also affecting Malaysia, with another 100 schools closed in the south of the country. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong warned on Thursday that the haze could remain in place for weeks.

“We can’t tell how this problem is going to develop because it depends on the burning, it depends on the weather, it depends on the wind,” he said. “It can easily last for several weeks and quite possibly it could last longer until the dry season ends in Sumatra which may be September or October.”

Article and image from BBC