The end of June has plagued Singapore with "The Haze", affecting the air quality of every breathing living thing here. It has caught international attention and put the tiny island of Singapore back on the map. There seems to be a temporary improvement in the quality of air but we are not out of the blue yet even as I write this post. I do hope the situation does not worsen again because I like to have a fighting chance to achieve my future dreams and ambitions, and that too, in good health.
Singapore's experience of the haze of 2013
Last Friday when air pollution levels hit the highest record of 401 PSI (borderline hazardous levels are capped at 300 PSI), it felt like the end of the world was here. There was much panic and fear around, not knowing when or if the levels will go down or continue to rise. While monitoring hourly PSI levels on the internet and smelling smoke everywhere, I kept imagining that we were going to be another statistic like the survivors of Chernobyl. My parents were worried sick and kept asking me to fly back home to Sri Lanka escape the haze of Singapore.
Today is a significant improvement from Friday the 21st of June, when PSI levels hit 401 (screen shot taken from www.nea.gov.sg/psi)
The outdoors are filled with people in face masks. The parks are empty as we have been advised to keep strenuous physical activity outdoors to a minimum. The indoors offer some security but when the situation was at its worst last week, we woke up in houses filled with smoke and worked in offices (without our masks on) where the smell of burning wood still got through the central air conditioning systems. People we hardly knew made small talk of the haze in buses and trains. Some time last week, stores everywhere ran out of face masks. When a store received new stocks of face masks, people queued up and it sold out in minutes like hotcakes. People even rushed to buy air purifiers and there just weren't enough stocks in the stores to fulfill the demand.
Ordinary paper masks offer no protection from the hazardous particles in the air but it was a few days before the general population got access to special N95 type masks. Plenty of people in vulnerable states like the elderly, children, pregnant mothers and those with existing respiratory problems were using the ordinary face masks until they found effective N95 masks. Business, including in construction sectors, went on as usual and low income construction workers continued to work outside when PSI levels soared past 300.
One type of N95 mask
Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil - besides countries like Malaysia, Nigeria and Thailand - supplying the global demand for palm oil. Palm oil is an essential ingredient in a lot of things we use and can't do without now. Every year during the dry season, Indonesia (our neighbour) burns a large area of their palm oil plantations, preparing the land for the next round of the oil palm crop. It's far easier and cheaper to set fire and let it burn away the area than clean up debris with hired labour, plus the charred remains make the soil fertile.
The problem is that these fires are often illegal and uncontrolled, spreading into natural forests, destroying everything in its path. A lot of the time, these regular activities go unnoticed and ignored on an international level because it's just another nagging ear sore caused by scientists or a conservationist group. And many people maintain the attitude "if it doesn't affect me or my loved ones directly, why should I care?". But this year it changed in Singapore. It noticeably affected people past international borders. The government became actively engaged because the haze was adversely affecting the health of its people and the country's economy.
This image shows the source of the smoke - fires originating in the oil plantations of Sumatra in Indonesia
Either we have an incredible ability to forget and move on with crisis situations or we may have become numb to media coverage and cries on environmental pollution. I can vouch for that because we here in Singapore are going on about life as usual, while taking recommended preventative measures to get past this haze. Maybe we don't want to add up the math of the climate crisis happening in other parts of the world or analyse deeper into what lessons this haze can teach us. After all, the governments of Singapore and Indonesia are taking measures to improve air quality in the area, protect the people and bring culprits of this haze to justice. We don't know yet what diseases and long term effects on health this extended exposure will bring. Perhaps, being resilient creatures of years of evolutionary success, we may not be affected much. But for now, the general attitude is "We feel fine and therefore don't particularly feel motivated to change our lifestyles or become more environmentally friendly".
What about the animals, plants and their habitats that are getting destroyed by the fires? What of the animals that live outdoors and have no protection whatsoever from what they breathe in? No one can afford to care because the truth is, no matter what, it is a game of priorities and survival of the fittest. This incident should really be a wake up call or it will be a wasted lesson on us all. This is a snapshot of the fate that we are bringing upon ourselves and the planet at large with the lifestyles and desires we have acquired over the years. Conscientious people can take small measures to stall the untimely death of the planet, but the real power lies with the governments. We are well past the point where measures like optimistic recycling efforts of a few individuals will reverse the situation (but that doesn't mean we should stop trying!). Only international environmental policies and tough measures to control consumerism taken by proactive governments with good leadership can offer a glimmer of hope.
But otherwise, our future generations are pretty much doomed.
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