Haze situation worsens in S'pore

Haze situation worsens in S'pore

The haze in Singapore continues to worsen today, hitting the "very unhealthy" level despite some improvement earlier following light showers on Monday night.

This is due to prevailing winds blowing from the south-southwest, bringing denser haze from Sumatra towards the island republic.

As at 12pm Tuesday, the 24-hour pollutant standard index (PSI) read as 162 to 214, in the mid unhealthy and low range of very unhealthy, while the three-hour PSI was 227, according to the National Environment Agency.

The hazy condition is expected to persist today with the 24-hour PSI potentially in the mid to high sections of the very unhealthy range.

~News courtesy of Bernama~

Gardens by the Bay for Mid-Autumn Festival

300 lanterns on display at Gardens by the Bay for Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations are in full swing.

At Gardens by the Bay, 50 life-size goat lanterns were on display in celebration of SG50 and the year of the goat. The goat lanterns were made by more than 200 residents who took part in a lantern painting competition last Sunday.

The top design won a prize of S$2,000 for its intricate design. Second and third place winners bagged prizes of S$1,000 and S$500, while five consolation awards of S$100 each were given out.

Labour chief and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing was at the event on Sunday evening (Sep 27). He enjoyed a traditional Chinese tea ceremony which was part of the Food Street, another festival highlight where visitors could enjoy local delicacies from about 30 different stalls.

Besides the goats, there were about 300 lanterns in various shapes like trees, flowers and even dinosaurs, all handmade by master craftsmen from the Zigong province in Sichuan, China.

The public can enjoy these for free until the festival ends on Oct 4.

~News courtesy of Channel News Asia~

Hazy conditions expected to persist on Monday

Hazy conditions expected to persist on Monday: NEA

Hazy conditions are expected to persist on Monday (Sep 28), with winds forecast to blow from the south or south-southwest, said the National Environment Agency in an advisory on Sunday (Sep 27).

"The 24-hour PSI for the next 24 hours is expected to be in the low- to mid-sections of the Unhealthy range, with a possibility of entering the high-section of the Unhealthy range if denser haze is blown in by unfavourable winds," the advisory said.

Slightly hazy conditions on Sunday were due to the moderate to dense haze still persisting in central and southern Sumatra. "Some haze has spread to the sea areas west and south of Singapore," said NEA.

A total of 61 hotspots were detected in Sumatra on Sunday. NEA said the low count was due to the "cloud cover over parts of Sumatra". It added that most of the hotspots were detected in southern Sumatra. On Saturday, 24 hotspots were detected.

Indonesia has assured Singapore that it is taking the haze very seriously, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in a Facebook post on Sunday.

"My Indonesian counterpart, Coordinating Minister Luhut Panjaitan, phoned me this afternoon. He assured me that the Indonesian government is taking the haze very seriously and deploying more troops to deal with the fires," said Mr Teo.

Mr Teo added that he told the minister that "Singapore’s offer to assist Indonesia in our own small way to put out the fires still stands – it would be a sign of cooperation between our two countries, so that Indonesians and Singaporeans need not suffer the haze".

~News courtesy of Channel News Asia~

Haze conditions deteriorate

Haze conditions deteriorate, air quality could enter mid section of Very Unhealthy range: NEA

Given the air quality forecast for the next 24 hours, healthy people should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion, said the NEA. The elderly, pregnant women and children should minimise outdoor activity, while those with chronic lung or heart disease should avoid it altogether.

Hazy conditions in Singapore further deteriorated over Wednesday night, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Thursday (Sep 24). This was due to denser haze from Sumatra being blown in by the prevailing southerly winds.

As of 3pm on Thursday, the 3-hour PSI was 225, while the 24-hour PSI was 184-224, in the Unhealthy range. The NEA added that these conditions are expected to persist for the rest of the day, and that there could be further deterioration in the air quality on Thursday, as the prevailing winds are forecast to blow from the south-southeast or south-southwest.

The 24-hr PSI for the next 12 hours is expected to be in the high end of the Unhealthy range and the low end of the Very Unhealthy range, and may enter the mid-section of the Very Unhealthy range if denser haze from Sumatra continues to be blown in, said the NEA.

Given the air quality forecast for the next 24 hours, healthy people should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion, the NEA advised. The elderly, pregnant women and children should minimise outdoor activity, while those with chronic lung or heart disease should avoid it altogether.

~News courtesy of Channel News Asia~

Vehicle Entry Permit to Johor delayed

Vehicle Entry Permit to Johor delayed

Drivers who make frequent trips to Malaysia will not be required to hold a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) until the end of the year at least.

The Oct 1 deadline to register will be pushed back by at least another four months to give authorities time to develop a radio frequency identification tag that is clone and tamper proof, a Malaysian Ministry of Transport (MOT) spokesman told The Straits Times yesterday.

The VEP, which has a five-year validity, costs vehicle owners an administrative fee of RM10 (S$3.27).

Upon payment, each owner will need to collect a tag to stick on their car windshield.

"Don't worry. If you have no tag on Oct 1, you will not be stopped at the border," said the spokesman. "The latest decision is that we want a better tag that is tamper and clone proof, so we are trying to enhance the tag at this point of time."

It will take about four months to finalise the tag's design.

Vehicle owners will then be given "ample time" - several months - to collect it, he said.

"We will announce the cut-off date for all Singaporean vehicles to display the tag when we are ready. It could be in June next year."

He added that collection information will be sent to applicants when the tags are ready. Although details are still being ironed out, the plan is for vehicle owners to be able to pick them up at several locations, including roadside rest areas.

Many motorists were fretting about the Oct 1 deadline. Some gave up on registering, citing the onerous process and problematic website. Others who managed to register said they had not received information on how to collect the tags.

About 74,000 drivers of Singapore-registered vehicles have submitted VEP applications since Aug 15, when online registration began.

Malaysian authorities expected 200,000 to 300,000 Singapore-registered private vehicles to be enrolled by the end of this year.

Muhammad Shiraq, 25, who registered his family car for the VEP in early September, has not received information on where to collect the tag.

The engineering student, who visits Malaysia once a month with his family for meals and shopping, also said that it was tedious filling up the registration form as it required specific information, like the vehicle chassis number and insurance expiry date.

"Having to wait after the tedious process is frustrating," he said. "Why can't they prepare everything on their side first before asking us to register?"

Malaysia's VEP will initially involve foreign-registered vehicles entering the country via Johor, and will later be implemented at the country's other 12 road entry points.

On Aug 1 last year, Singapore increased the cost of the VEP for foreign vehicles entering the Republic from $20 to $35 a day. It also raised the cost of the Goods Vehicle Permit from $10 to $40.

~News courtesy of My Paper~