Singapore logs 18th unhealthy-air day as haze briefly eases
What's next: NEA expects PSI readings of 101 to 160 on Oct. 22 as smoke from Kalimantan and later Sumatra may keep drifting in.
Singapore entered its 18th day of unhealthy air on Oct. 22, overtaking the 14-day stretch recorded during the 2015 haze crisis, even as conditions improved overnight. Hourly PM2.5 readings returned to the normal band across all five regions by 1 a.m., while 24-hour PSI readings were good to moderate in the north, south, east and central regions at 6 a.m.; only the west remained unhealthy at 112. The worst reading this season was a 24-hour PSI of 230 in western Singapore on Oct. 18, after PM2.5 in the west hit 288 on Oct. 14. The National Environment Agency warned unhealthy air could return on Oct. 22 as smoke haze from fires in Kalimantan may be carried toward Singapore, with shifting winds later raising the risk of haze from Sumatra.