Category Archives: News

Singapore, 18 January 2014 – Mount Sinabung, located 80km west of Medan, North Sumatra, and 650km from Singapore, has been in a state of intermittent volcanic activity since 15 September 2013. To date, Singapore has not been affected by the volcanic ash from this volcanic activity.

2The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) has been closely monitoring the situation. There has been an intensification of volcanic activity in recent days.

3Dispersion model simulations by the MSS as well as the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre indicate that over the next one to two days, volcanic ash is expected to move south, but will be confined within the northern half of Sumatra. The likelihood of volcanic ash affecting Singapore is low and the 24-hr PSI is expected to remain in the Good band. Should some volcanic ash reach Singapore under current conditions, there may be a slight deterioration in air quality. MSS will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates on developments.

4The most frequent health problems that occur among people who have been exposed to volcanic ash are acute respiratory symptoms, stress and irritations of eyes (contact lens users are at risk) and skin, and exacerbation in people with cardio-respiratory problems. People with existing lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema, as well as older adults and children are also sensitive towards the exposure of volcanic ash. The severity of these problems is however, affected by the concentration of ash and the duration of exposure to ash. The amount of ash that may reach Singapore is likely to be small and the duration relatively short, posing little or no health risk to the public.

5The public may refer to the NEA website for regular updates on the situation. The 24-hr PSI is used as the reference to measure air quality during a volcanic ash situation as the volcanic ash particles^[1] are in the PM₁₀^[2] range and included in the PSI. The public may access PSI updates through the following channels:

• NEA Twitter
• NEA myENV App on iPhone and Android

^[1] Volcanic ash particles are pieces of pulverized rock like sand or rock dust made of silica with some amounts of potassium, aluminum and iron. Trace quantities of other metals may also be present.

^[2] Particulate matter of 10 microns or smaller in size.

^[3] Particulate matter of 10 microns or smaller in size

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Singapore, 30 December 2013 – Air quality has deteriorated since yesterday, but has remained in the Good range with 24-hr PSI at 6pm today in the range of 44 to 49 (Good). The 3-hr PSI is 38. 24-hr PM2.5 is the range of 25 to 30μg/m3.

2Northern ASEAN and parts of East Asia have been experiencing dry weather conditions over the past several weeks. A total of 110 hotspots were detected in Northern ASEAN on 29 December. The haze is due to dust particles conveyed by the winds blowing from the north or northeast.

3For the next few days, showers are forecast over Singapore, and we expect the air quality to improve and remain in the Good range.

4NEA is monitoring the situation closely and will provide further updates when necessary.

Singapore, 18 December 2013 – Singapore has been experiencing Northeast Monsoon conditions since the onset of the Northeast Monsoon season in the region in late-November 2013. In the past weeks, short-duration thundery showers affected Singapore mostly in the afternoon and early evening. As of 17 December, the wettest areas were in the northeast with rainfall of around 85 to 98% of the long-term monthly average. The driest parts of the island were in the south and west where 30 to 40% of the long-term monthly average rainfall was recorded. Overall rainfall for December 2013 is expected to be around 10 – 30% above average.

2According to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), a steady strengthening of winds over the South China Sea known as a monsoon surge, is expected to affect the region over the next few days. The surge is likely to bring intermittent rain, heavy at times, with occasional windy conditions to Singapore on one to two days between 19 and 22 December 2013. High tides of 3.1m are expected during this period.

3Heavy rain coinciding with high tides could lead to localised flash floods especially in the low-lying areas. The public are advised to exercise caution during the monsoon season when flash floods may occur in the event of heavy rainfall. For the latest monsoon update, please visit https://www.weather.gov.sg/weather-forecast-monsoon-update/.

4Besides the regular weather forecast, NEA will issue warnings through the media when heavy rain or prolonged monsoon rain is expected. This will help the public to better prepare for heavy rain.

5The public can obtain the latest weather reports, including heavy rain warnings, at NEA’s website at www.nea.gov.sg. They can also assess the mobile weather service at Weather@SG (weather.nea.gov.sg) or by calling the NEA’s weather forecast hotline at 6542 7788.

6In the event of flash floods, the public can log on to PUB’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/PUBSg) or PUB’s Twitter (twitter.com/PUBSingapore), or tune in to radio broadcasts, to find out locations of flash floods. Additionally, they can download PUB’s free mobile app “MyWaters”, for updates on water level in key drains and canals and flash flood alerts.

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