NEA monitoring situation after ‘noticeable’ burning smell reported in S’pore, warns of haze from Johor hotspots

Noticeable burning smell doesn’t always change air quality readings: NEA

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it is “monitoring the situation closely” after a “noticeable” burning smell was reported in Singapore, especially in the east.

In a Facebook post late on Monday (26 Jan) night, NEA warned that haze could blow over from hotspots in Johor.

Johor hotspots due to vegetation fires: NEA

The hotspots north of Singapore continued to burn due to vegetation fires, NEA said.

As the prevailing low-level winds are blowing from the north or northeast, “some smoke haze” could be transported to Singapore, it added.

The Meteorological Service Singapore’s (MSS) regional haze map showed that the two closest hotspots to Singapore are located in Pengerang and Punggai.

Peat soil fires reported in Punggai area

Dry and windy weather had exacerbated peat soil fires in the Punggai area, with the affected area increasing to 12.14 hectares on Monday (26 Jan), Bernama reported.

Punggai Fire and Rescue Station chief Ezam Mistorerrodin said they received an emergency call about the fires at 11am on Monday.

But firefighting could not be conducted at one of the two sectors because it was far from water sources and had limited water supply.

PSI in ‘Moderate’ range on 26 Jan night

While NEA acknowledged that the burning smell was noticeable, “it does not always result in a significant change to air quality readings”.

It noted that the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) at 10pm on Monday ranged from 43 to 56, i.e. the “Good” to “Moderate” range.

At 11pm, the highest PSI reading was in the east, which recorded a “Moderate” reading.

Any reading between 51 and 100 is considered “Moderate”.

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), all persons may proceed with normal activities when the reading is “Moderate”.

Many residents in the east complain to NEA of burning smell

However, this was cold comfort to netizens commenting on NEA’s post, with many residents in the east and northeast complaining of the smell.

One suggested that the apparent discrepancy might be due to the fact that the PSI reading is not in real-time.

Air Quality Index rises to ‘Unhealthy’ level

An indication of how bad it was on Monday night could be derived from the Air Quality Index (AQI), which told a different story from the PSI.

While the PSI, which the NEA’s daily health advisories are based on, is computed based on six air pollutants over a rolling average for the past 24 hours, the AQI indicates air quality in real time.

At 10pm on Monday, the AQI soared to 165 in southeastern Singapore — firmly in the “Unhealthy” range (151 to 200).

At 12 midnight on Tuesday (27 Jan), the reading in the east was 147 — “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”.

Burning smell also detected in S;pore on 24 Jan

Last Saturday (24 Jan) night, NEA said PM2.5 levels in the eastern part of Singapore were “slightly elevated”, also after many reported a burning smell.

In fact, several netizens said that they had detected this for up to a week before NEA’s post.

A user who lives in the east posted on TikTok on the same day, saying the burning smell had persisted for “three days straight”.

The smoky smell had caused her to feel sick, she added.

Also read: NEA warns of transboundary haze from Sumatra hotspots, but S’pore unaffected for now

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Featured image adapted from National Environment Agency on Facebook and Balai Bomba & Penyelamat Kota Tinggi on Facebook.