By Anas Abu Hassan
SINGAPORE, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- Air quality across Singapore is forecast to remain unhealthy or reach the lower end of the very unhealthy range on Friday as dense smoke haze from Kalimantan continues to drift towards the city-state, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said.
In its daily weather and haze forecast, NEA said showers were expected over Singapore and the surrounding region on Friday and throughout the weekend, while southern Sumatra and parts of Kalimantan were likely to remain dry.
"With the winds forecast to be east-southeasterly or southeasterly, smoke haze is likely to continue to be carried from Kalimantan towards Singapore," it said on Thursday.
Over the weekend, NEA said the winds were expected to shift and blow from the southeast or south, which could reduce the transport of smoke haze from Kalimantan to Singapore.
However, some smoke haze from Sumatra may still drift towards Singapore.
As of 7 pm on Thursday, NEA data showed that the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) remained elevated, ranging between 121 and 185 within the unhealthy range.
The 24-hour PSI stood at 185 in the central region, 180 in the west, 160 in the east, 157 in the south and 121 in the north.
Meanwhile, the one-hour PM2.5 concentration remained in the elevated to high band between 98 and 221.
-- BERNAMA