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| A view of the skyline of Singapore shrouded by haze in Singapore (Representational picture) |
The air quality in Singapore is fluctuating as on Friday,
September 20 the haze was lifted but again on Saturday, it returned. Singapore
F1 night race is one of the most important and exciting races of the calendar,
so F1 has confirmed that they do have a contingency plan for the potentially
poor air quality.
Caused by
Indonesian forest fires, the poor air quality has deteriorated overnight as the
24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) showed that it is moving again towards
the unhealthy range.
The 24-hour PSI reading was between 65 and 68 on Friday night but on
Saturday, at around 11 am onwards it was 92 to 98, within the moderate range.
| PSI reading range |
| 0-50: Good air quality |
| 51-100: Moderate air quality |
| 201-300: Very unhealthy air quality |
| Above 300: Hazardous air quality |
The National Environment Agency (NEA) stated
that the 1-hour PM2.5 concentration, is a better indicator of current air
quality, was 27 to 44 micrograms per cubic m, within the normal band, at around
11 am. This is similar to the PM2.5 reading of 20 to 49, within the normal
range, 12 hours earlier.
| PM2.5 concentration scale |
| 8-55: Normal |
| 56-150: Elevated |
| 151-250: High |
| Above 250: Very high |
It should be noted that the forest fires in Sumatra are a result
of illegal measures to clear land for agriculture and have gone out of control
and Jakarta has since deployed security forces and air sprays to tackle the
problem.
Earlier NEA
officials stated that the air quality in Manila is very interchangeable which means
it is not possible to reliably predict the PSI ahead of the Grand Prix event
this weekend.
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| Workers walk on the track ahead of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit in Singapore... |
An F1 spokesperson claimed the race organizers are taking
measures to reduce the effects of the haze for both the drivers and the
spectators. They had set several measures such as public information at the
circuit as a notification measure.
Jean NG,
the executive director of sports for the board said assistance would also be available
on-site for any spectators that feel unwell and the government agencies have
been collaborating with F1 organizers to make sure the event will be a success.
It should
be mentioned that this track is one of the very strategic and harder race
tracks in the F1 season schedule considering the conditions tend to be hot and
humid. But it is believed that the night haze will become an additional
challenge for the F1 drivers.
Disposable
masks, which cover the nose and mouth to protect the wearer from breathing in
small particles of haze in the air, will be available for sale at merchandise
booths if the pollution hits certain predetermined levels, said Singapore GP
authority.
Source: ibtimes.sg
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