Driven by Indonesian land and forest fires during dry weather, the prolonged transboundary haze caused unhealthy air quality across 38 days between September 4 and November 6. Authorities mitigated severe public disruptions by lowering the eligibility age for free N95 masks to 60 and providing subsidised care at polyclinics and Public Health Preparedness Clinics. Although Singapore avoided school closures, outdoor events were widely disrupted as the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index peaked at 230 in western Singapore on October 18. Experts praised the risk communication efforts but noted lingering concerns regarding the speed of regulatory enforcement against responsible companies.
Key points
Government agencies avoided widespread disruptions like school closures and food delivery…: Government agencies avoided widespread disruptions like school closures and food delivery halts through improved public health preparedness.
Subsidised medical care for haze-related health conditions at clinics and polyclinics wil…: Subsidised medical care for haze-related health conditions at clinics and polyclinics will wrap up on November 12.
Enforcing corporate accountability against external entities responsible for forest fires…: Enforcing corporate accountability against external entities responsible for forest fires remains a difficult regional regulatory hurdle.
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From N95 mask distributions to changes to Singapore’s transboundary haze law, CNA looks at how the country has managed this year’s haze episode.
SINGAPORE: After about two months of its worst haze episode since 2015, which pushed air quality into the unhealthy range, Singapore is ending most of its haze mitigation measures on Saturday (Nov 7), following a sustained improvement in conditions.
The move will see the end of daily haze advisories, N95 mask distribution and the closure of designated haze shelters, while the inter-agency Haze Task Force will stand down. Subsidised treatment for haze-related conditions will cease from Nov 12.
This year’s haze was less severe than in 2015 at its peak, but unhealthy air quality persisted for longer. Yet Singapore avoided some of the widespread disruptions seen over a decade ago, including school closures and food delivery suspensions.
The government also stepped up its response as the haze worsened, distributing masks to vulnerable groups, providing subsidised medical treatment and announcing tougher measures against companies potentially linked to the fires.
Experts told CNA that Singapore had generally handled the…
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