Singapore to practice haze action plan if PSI hits extremely dangerous levels

The air quality in Singapore has come again into the unhealthy range of 100-plus on Monday, with the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hitting the peak 130 at 5:00 p.m. local time (0900 GMT).

According to Channel NewsAsia reports, if the PSI hits the extremely dangerous levels, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Health Ministry will put in practice a haze action plan.

The action plan includes processing haze-related cases for priority treatment, and if necessary, creating a separate area for treating them.

Figures from the Health Ministry showed that total attendance in all polyclinics, due to haze-related conditions like asthma, lung, heart conditions, has increased to nearly 15,000 for the first week of October, which was 600 more than in the same period last month.

The NEA issued a health advisory on its website last weekend when the PSI remained in the unhealthy range, saying that persons with exiting heart or respiratory ailments should reduce physical exertion and outdoor activity while the general population should reduce vigorous outdoor activity.

Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries have shrouded in haze smoke from forest fires in Indonesia for almost a month.

Source: Xinhua