Singapore smog from Indonesia fire ‘could last weeks’

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Singapore’s prime minister has warned that the haze engulfing the city-state could last for weeks, as air pollution soared to record levels.

The pollution standards index peaked at 371 on Thursday, breaking previous records and well above hazardous levels, before falling to about 300.

The haze is the result of forest fires started by farmers clearing land on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The issue has sparked accusations between the two neighbours.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s Environment and Water Resources Minister, wrote on his Facebook wall that he would demand “definitive action” from Jakarta.

“No country or corporation has the right to pollute the air at the expense of Singaporeans’ health and wellbeing,” he said.

However, Indonesian Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono said that Singapore was “behaving like a child”.

“This is not what the Indonesian nation wants, it is because of nature,” he said.

Environment officials from the two nations have been holding an emergency meeting in Jakarta, to discuss the issue.

Since the haze arrived, Singapore’s buildings have been obscured by the polluted air and the smell of burnt wood has permeated the city-state.

A PSI reading above 200 indicates “very unhealthy” air, while a PSI score above 300 is “hazardous”. Readings are being posted on the website of the National Environment Agency.

continue reading BBC News – Singapore smog from Indonesia fire ‘could last weeks’.

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Regional HAZE Map 20 June 2013

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

HAZE Map

For PSI levels between 101-200, we would like to advise persons with existing heart or respiratory ailments should reduce physical exertion and outdoor activities. The general population should reduce vigorous outdoor activities.

For PSI levels between 201-300, elderly and persons with existing heart or respiratory ailments/lung diseases should stay indoors and reduce physical exertion and outdoor activities. The general population should avoid vigorous outdoor activities.

For PSI levels between 301-400, children, elderly and persons with existing heart of respiratory ailments/lung diseases should stay indoors and avoid outdoor activities. The general population should avoid unnecessary outdoor activities.

via NEA Haze Satellite Images & PSI Summary.

For more information on local air quality levels where you are: Local Air Quality Levels

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Singapore haze at worst yet, Malaysia schools shut

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Singapore urged people to remain indoors amid unprecedented levels of air pollution Thursday as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically. Nearby Malaysia closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some areas.

The Pollutant Standards Index, Singapore’s main measure for air pollution, surged to a record reading of 371, breaching the “hazardous” classification that can aggravate respiratory ailments. The previous all-time high before this week was in 1997, when the index reached 226.

Smog fueled by raging Indonesian blazes has hit Singapore and Malaysia many times, often in the middle of the year, but the severity of this week’s conditions has strained diplomatic ties. Officials in Singapore say Jakarta must do more to halt fires on Sumatra island started by plantation owners and farmers to clear land cheaply.

“This is now the worst haze that Singapore has ever faced,” Singapore’s Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan wrote on his Facebook page. “No country or corporation has the right to pollute the air at the expense of Singaporeans’ health and wellbeing.”

The haze has posed numerous inconveniences for Singaporeans, some of whom complained of coughs and covered their faces with handkerchiefs while walking outdoors. Flight controllers at Singapore’s Changi Airport were instructed to take precautions because of lower visibility, while McDonald’s said it was temporarily halting delivery service to protect its workers’ health.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong advised residents to stay indoors as far as possible, adding that “we will get through this together.”

In neighboring Malaysia, air quality remained relatively unaffected in the country’s biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, but a southern state that borders Singapore also recorded “hazardous” pollution in one district, where 200 schools were ordered shut through at least Friday. The Department of Environment banned open burning and made it punishable by up to five years in prison in three large states separated from Sumatra by the Malacca Strait.

Indonesian officials have defended their response to the haze, saying the government is educating farmers about alternatives to traditional slash-and-burn agriculture. Some Indonesian officials have also suggested that some fires might be blamed on Singaporean and Malaysian companies involved in Indonesia’s plantation industry.

via Singapore haze at worst yet, Malaysia schools shut | The Jakarta Post.

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Singapore pollution soars as haze from Indonesia hits air quality

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Singaporeans reduced military training exercises, kept cough-stricken children indoors and wore protective masks to work after a smoky haze triggered by forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia caused air pollution to hit its worst level in nearly 16 years.

Singapore’s main measurement of air quality has hovered at the unhealthy classification as smoke from blazes on Sumatra island drifted across the sea and cast a grey pall over the city-state’s skyscrapers.

The readings on the pollutant standards index were mostly between 104 and 123 on Tuesday, within the unhealthy range of between 101 and 200. A peak reading of 155 on Monday night was the highest since late 1997, when officials reported a 226 reading.

Smoke haze is an annual problem for Singapore and its northern neighbour, Malaysia, often beginning midyear, when farmers in Indonesia seek to clear land cheaply by starting fires. It sometimes causes diplomatic strains as Malaysia and Singapore urge Indonesia to do more to prevent illegal burning.

Malaysia has been only lightly affected so far this year, with pollution readings in Kuala Lumpur, its largest city, not breaching the unhealthy mark. Indonesia has said part of the current problem is caused by peat blazes that firefighters are struggling to extinguish during hot, dry weather.

The forest ministry spokesman, Sumarto Suharno, said the government was continuing to educate farmers about alternatives to traditional slash-and-burn agriculture. “We have been able to reduce the regional haze problem significantly for years with help from local communities and will continue to undertake all efforts to prevent it from spreading,” he said.

continue reading Singapore pollution soars as haze from Indonesia hits air quality | World news | guardian.co.uk.

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China launches new measures to tackle air pollution

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

China’s cabinet has outlined measures aimed at improving the country’s air pollution problems, which have plagued many of its larger cities over recent years.

One of the main measures, announced in state media over the weekend, is a target to reduce emissions from heavily polluting industries by 30% by the end of 2017. In statement after a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, the State Council said there would be “tough measures for tough tasks”.

In January and February 2013 air pollution levels in the capitial Beijing and a number of other cities rose to what are believed to have been record levels. Dubbed the ‘airpocalypse’, Beijing was shrouded in a thick cloud of smog. On more than one occasion the US embassy in the city, which monitors air quality and publishes the results on a Twitter feed, described the levels as “beyond index”.

The new measures do not outline which industries would be included in the 30% target. However, in February in response to the air pollution crisis and a high level of public outcry, the government announced that six heavily polluting industries including iron and steel, cement and petrochemicals would have to comply with “special” emission limits from the start of March. Details of the limits were unclear.

Another of the new measures announced is to “enhance control” of PM2.5 pollution, which are fine particulates that measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter. The Chinese authorities only started to measure this type of pollution in Beijing in October 2012. This type of pollution is considered particularly dangerous to health as the fine particles can lodge deep within the lungs and enter the bloodstream. The statement said that a ranking of air quality in major cities should be made public.

continue reading China launches new measures to tackle air pollution | Jennifer Duggan | Environment | guardian.co.uk.

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Autism Tied to Air Pollution, Brain-Wiring Disconnection

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Researchers seeking the roots of autism have linked the disorder to chemicals in air pollution and, in a separate study, found that language difficulties of the disorder may be due to a disconnect in brain wiring.

Researchers from Harvard University’s School of Public Health found that pregnant women exposed to high levels of diesel particulates or mercury were twice as likely to have an autistic child compared with peers in low-pollution areas. The findings, published today in Environmental Health Perspectives, are from the largest U.S. study to examine the ties between air pollution and autism.

One in 50 U.S. children are diagnosed with autism or a related disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children with autism may be unresponsive to people, become indifferent to social activity and have communication difficulties. A separate study from Stanford University and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the first to suggest that weak connections between brain regions for speaking and reward may be why.

“There isn’t a lot of data to strongly point at what are the root causes of the social deficits in children with autism,” Daniel Abrams, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University in California, said in a telephone interview. “We think it has this important motivation and reward component to it.”

The cause of autism isn’t known, though genetic factors are thought to be important, according to the National Institutes of Health.

continue reading Autism Tied to Air Pollution, Brain-Wiring Disconnection – Bloomberg.

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China makes fresh promises on air pollution, pledges support for solar

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

China’s cabinet approved new measures to combat air pollution on Friday, in the latest step by China’s new leadership to address the country’s enormous environmental problems, with pollution a key source of rising social discontent in China.

The government also promised to support China’s troubled solar power industry, despite problems with overcapacity and ongoing trade disputes with the United States and Europe.

In a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, the State Council approved 10 anti-pollution measures, the council said in a statement posted on its website late Friday.

In particular, the State Council promised to:

– Accelerate the installation of pollution control equipment on small, coal-fuelled refineries.

– Curb the growth of high-energy-consuming industries like steel, cement, aluminum, and glass.

– Reduce emissions per unit of GDP in key industries by at least 30 percent by the end of 2017.

– Improve indicators used to evaluate the environmental impact of new projects and deny administrative approvals, financing, land, and other support to projects that fail to meet high standards.

– Strengthen enforcement and collection of fees and penalties that companies pay based on their emissions.

– Use legal action to force industries to upgrade pollution controls and establish or revise industry-level emissions standards.

The country’s new top leaders, who took power in a once-in-a-decade political transition late last year, have promised to tackle China’s pollution problem. The government has made similar promises over the last decade, but enforcement has often been lacking, especially at the local level.

Protests over pollution are becoming more frequent in China, as the country’s increasingly affluent urban population begins to object to the model of growth at all costs that has fueled the economy for three decades.

Friday’s State Council statement also acknowledged difficulties afflicting China’s solar industry but pledged to maintain support for the industry through “reformed methods”.

Specific measures include price support for the sale of photovoltaic electricity to electricity grids and requiring grid operators to purchase all the electricity that solar generators produce.

via China makes fresh promises on air pollution, pledges support for solar.

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Singapore air pollution reaches lethal levels

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution from forest fires in Indonesia’s Sumatra island reached severe levels in Singapore on Monday, triggering a health alert in the densely populated city-state.

Skyscrapers including the famous Marina Bay Sands casino towers were shrouded in haze and the acrid smell of burnt wood pervaded the central business district.

The Pollutant Standards Index soared to 105 at mid-afternoon, past the “unhealthy” threshold of 100, according to the National Environment Agency NEA website.

People with heart and lung disease, those over 65 and children are advised to “reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion” even in moderate conditions, defined as a reading of 51-100.Business and air transport have so far not been affected. Singapore schools are on holiday.

Singapore is one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Most of its 5.3 million people live in high-rise apartment blocks.

Malaysia has also been affected by the haze problem, which occurs in the dry season as a result of forest fires in the sprawling Indonesian archipelago, some of them deliberately started to clear land for cultivation.

Haze reached unhealthy levels in Malaysia over the weekend.On Monday, the Malaysian pollutant index showed unhealthy levels of between 102 and 121 in parts of the states of Pahang, Terengganu and Malacca.

In the capital Kuala Lumpur, the sky was also hazy with a reading of 82 at midday.

Southeast Asia’s haze problem hit its worst level in 1997-1998, causing widespread health problems and costing the regional economy billions of dollars as a result of business and air transport disruptions.

via Singapore air pollution reaches lethal levels | eNCA.

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