Singapore haze readings hit yearly high as East Timor suspends classes
East Timor will halt in-person learning for three days from 15 October, while Indonesia has deployed more than 69,000 firefighters.
Smoke from Indonesian wildfires pushed Singapore’s pollution readings to their highest this year, while East Timor announced a temporary suspension of classroom learning. In western Singapore, the 1-hour reading for PM2.5 reached 284 microgrammes per cubic metre.
That measurement fell within the National Environmental Agency’s “very high” category, a threshold not previously reached during this haze episode. The national record, set in western Singapore during the Indonesian wildfires of October 2015, was 471 microgrammes per cubic metre.
East Timor’s government attributed its three-day suspension, beginning on 15 October, to pollution particles from fires in nearby countries or regions. It did not name Indonesia. The two countries share an island, and hotspots have been reported in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province.
Indonesia is experiencing its most intense wildfire season in 11 years amid dry conditions linked to El Nino. Respiratory illnesses have increased in Indonesia, while deteriorating air quality has also prompted school closures in several Malaysian states.
President Prabowo Subianto has directed that more resources be sent to fight the fires. Honi Havana, an official at the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, said firefighting deployments exceeded 69,000 personnel, compared with around 44,000 in mid-September. Authorities were also testing special chemicals to improve fire suppression.
Disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Berton Panjaitan said underground peatland fires could flare up again after smouldering. He said sustained rainfall was necessary to resolve the situation.
