πŸ‡ΈπŸ‡¬ Singapore News

Haze update Sept 26: Air quality inches towards unhealthy range again, 24-hour PSI forecast at moderate to low-unhealthy

Air quality inched towards unhealthy levels on Saturday (Sept 26) afternoon, but has remained in the moderate range, for now.At 6pm, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) ranged from 71 to 96 β€” in the moderate range β€” with central Singapore recording the highest reading of 96. Readings of between 101 and 200 denote the unhealthy range. Meanwhile, one-hour PM2.5 is in the normal band in northern (46), western (48) and southern (54) Singapore; but in the elevated band in central (96) and eastern (76) regions of the Republic.In its daily haze situation update on Saturday evening, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said the country's 24-hour PSI forecast is expected to be in the moderate to low-unhealthy range.It pointed out that moderate to dense smoke haze from fires in Kalimantan drifted towards Singapore on Saturday, while smoke plumes were also observed from fires in southern Sumatra.Along with the prevailing south-easterly or south-westerly winds, there could be a risk of smoke haze affecting Singapore, the agency explained.

asiaone.com Β· tech en

'Cheeky' macaques play technician, remove component from Thomson lamp post

Two long-tailed macaques were caught with their tails up as they indulged in some "monkey business" along Old Upper Thomson Road recently.Sharing a video it received from a member of public, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) dubbed the "cheeky" monkeys its "unexpected maintenance crew".But what really happened, it said, was that the monkeys were removing a control node from a street lamp.According to LTA, the control node that is mounted on top of the street lamp, is part of its remote control and monitoring system that allows it to automatically detect faults and control streetlights.LTA said its system knew "something was up" after the node was removed, adding that this is not the first recorded instance of such an occurrence."So while our furry friends thought they were being sneaky, our system knew something was up. "This isn’t the first time curious wildlife has taken an interest in our streetlight equipment, especially near forests and nature reserves."

asiaone.com Β· world en

Singapore team helping identify disaster victims in Nepal returns home: 'What we do matters to those looking for answers'

For Singapore's Operation Vanguard contingent, their work in Nepal was not just about fingerprints, post-mortem examinations or drones.Behind every body they examined was a family waiting for answers.The 35-member contingent returned to Singapore on Friday (Sept 18) after spending more than two weeks supporting Nepal's disaster relief efforts following catastrophic floods and landslides along the Nepal-China border on Aug 26.The contingent, comprising officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Health Sciences Authority's (HSA) Forensic Medicine Division and HTX's Integrated Forensics Service, was deployed from Sept 1 to 18 at the request of the Nepali authorities.

asiaone.com Β· world en