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Singapore schools shut as air quality worsens
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SINGAPORE will close all primary and secondary schools today as worsening pollution causes air quality to deteriorate, the Ministry of Education said late yesterday.
Slash-and-burn agriculture in neighboring Indonesia has blanketed Singapore in a choking haze for weeks, and the air quality has worsened since Wednesday night.
The three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading climbed to 314 and the 24-hour figure rose to 223-275 at 10pm local time.
Anything over 300 indicates “hazardous” air quality and 201-300 is “very unhealthy,” Singapore’s National Environment Agency says on its website.
Kindergartens run by the Ministry of Education and special education schools will also be closed, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
In addition, Singapore Sports Hub, which includes an outdoor stadium and an aquatic sports centre, said on its website that it would suspend all outdoor activities. Fast-food restaurants, including KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s, have halted delivery service as the pollution worsens.
Healthy persons have been told to “avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion” and the elderly, pregnant women and children have advised to minimize outdoor exposure.
Housewife Asnah Mohamad, 62, said she and her friend used their headscarfs to cover their face as they traveled to a mosque to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
“My husband cannot leave the house because he has a heart condition so I represented him to collect the meat offerings,” she said, referring to the festival in which Muslims share the meat of a goat or sheep slaughtered as sacrifices.
“We hope it gets better soon. But what can you do? Go over there (to Indonesia) and pour water on the fire?”
Facility managers said they will “continue to monitor and assess the haze situation hourly” and will reopen when the air quality improves.
Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin called for calm.
“At all times refer only to official channels for information and do not circulate speculations,” he said.
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