People with heart or respiratory diseases, as well as young children and elderly, should avoid going outdoors whilst the haze lasts in Singapore, advise experts. Even if you don’t have a pre-existing health condition, you should reduce your outdoor physical activity when the air quality is hazy and unhealthy.

For the latest air quality readings, visit the National Environment Agency (NEA) website at www.nea.gov.sg.

A PSI reading of:

• 0-50 is considered good
• 51-100 is moderate
• 101-200 is unhealthy
• 201-300 is very unhealthy
• Above 300 is hazardous

The smoke haze is an annual occurrence in Singapore and typically occurs in the May to October period. It is caused by winds bringing in tiny particles of ash from forest fires burning around the region due to farmers using slash-and-burn to clear land.

These particles are called PM2.5 (2.5 refers to the size in microns of the particulate matters). Breathing in an excess of these particles can increase a person’s risk of developing viral and bacterial infections, as well as heart and lung diseases, cancer and stroke. While the bigger air particles are filtered out by the respiratory tract, tiny particles are typically deposited in the lungs. These tiny particles can accumulate over time and harm the body.

“Existing health conditions such as eczema, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and eye diseases like conjunctivitis are made worse by air pollution,” says Assoc Prof Loo Chian Min, Senior Consultant, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a member of the SingHealth group.

“Even healthy people can suffer from irritation in the eyes, nose and throat, coughing and sneezing, if they spend time outdoors during a smoke haze.”