Steph's Blog: Haze

The haze is really bothering me. With an average PSI of 145 as of now, who wouldn't be worried? The worst-hit would be our friends living in the south. This would mean people at Sentosa and Harbour Front. Sentosa definitely didn't plan the haze as part of their tourist attractions. But what to do? It's there and everywhere.

There are some people who rush to wear face masks like those guys in E.R. only without the medical expertise. However, I heard from somewhere that it doesn't help. In fact it worsens the condition. Why? Her explanation was that by wearing a mask, the user would need to breathe in more as the amount of oxygen entering your lungs is less. Sadly, some of these "haze" particles (soot, CO2, SO2...etc) are able to pass through the mask, rendering it useless. Due to the increased breathing rate, more of these particles enter. Sad huh? I know, the truth hurts.

I drew this graph for an overview of the situation. Reminds me of the sin graph. Anyway, I know this graph ain't great for me to win a Nobel Prize, but at least it helps us to see something. Based on the data from NEA (National Environment Agency), we can see that PSI peaks at around close-noon and night. So what does it means? Well, don't run or get into any forms of strenuous exercise during these times. Playing "catching" is not advised due to the haze conditions. You won't want to catch a name-some-respiratory-disease do you.

Some of the health effects are (taken from NEA):

Mild aggravation of symptoms among susceptible persons ie. those with underlying conditions such as chronic heart or lung ailments; transient symptoms of irritation eg. eye irritation, sneezing or coughing in some of the healthy population.

So if you experience any of these, please try to abstain from heavy exercise (those biceps can wait) and dusty places. Try to stay in an air-conditioned place as the filter in the air-con would help to filter those stuff out.

I am thinking, if we here in Singapore already experienced so much discomfort, what more those in Indonesia - the source of the haze? Worse still, the farmers that burn the trees! The situation would be much worse for them!

I can only imagine...

Son: Pa! *Cough* *Cough* Why is the haze so thick?
Pa: Don't worry son. Some big boss promise us money by burning these trees. After all of this, you will have a big field for catching with your friends.
Son: But Pa, the haze is so thick!
Pa: Son, try to look at the light in the end of the tunnel.
Son: What tunnel?

(Data taken from: http://app.nea.gov.sg/psi/)