Singapore haze worsens as Timor-Leste suspends in-person classes

Singapore’s western-region one-hour PM2.5 reading reached 288 micrograms per cubic metre at 3 p.m. on Oct. 14, the highest reported there since 2015. The next day, Timor-Leste began a three-day suspension of in-person teaching in covered schools nationwide, citing worsening air quality and pollutant particles from fires in the region.

The two developments came amid reports of transboundary smoke haze across several parts of Southeast Asia. The readings in Singapore and Timor-Leste refer to different air-quality measures and should not be compared directly.

Singapore reading rose during the afternoon

The western-region figure increased from 284 µg/m³ at 2 p.m. to 288 µg/m³ an hour later, CNA reported. The 288 reading was the highest reported there since 2015, but it was below the 471 µg/m³ reading reported for the same region at 11 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2015.

At 6:04 p.m. on Oct. 14, Singapore’s National Environment Agency reported moderate-to-dense transboundary smoke haze over Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan, Sumatra and western Sarawak. It said many monitoring stations in Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan and Sumatra were reporting unhealthy-to-hazardous air quality. Those reports describe conditions across multiple areas; they do not mean readings were the same everywhere.

The agency also reported widespread hotspots in Kalimantan and southern Sumatra. It forecast elevated haze risk in fire-prone areas where dry conditions persisted.

Timor-Leste measure covers specified schools

Timor-Leste’s government ordered face-to-face teaching suspended on Oct. 15, 16 and 17 throughout the national territory in establishments within the public education system. The order covers public, private and cooperative institutions, from preschool through general and technical-vocational secondary education.

Students and staff in those covered establishments were affected by the pause in classroom teaching. The measure suspends in-person classes; it does not establish that every educational institution in the country closed or that all forms of instruction stopped.

The government said worsening air-quality information informed its decision. It cited recent Air Quality Index readings of 165 to 174 in Dili and characterized them as harmful to health. Those AQI figures are a different measure from Singapore’s PM2.5 concentrations, so they are not a direct comparison.

The government linked pollutant particles to fires and burning in the region. Its announcement did not identify a country as the source of the fires.

Separately, Reuters reported that ASEAN foreign ministers’ preparatory meetings in November were expected to address transboundary haze. The report did not specify meeting dates or agreed policy measures.