Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.
That’s probably a nursery rhyme you heard when you were young.
But that concept of chasing away the rain can’t be further from what people in Singapore want. In fact, they might be trying to do a rain dance to get more rain in Singapore.
Not because we need to grow crops, of course. More for the rain to clear the haze away.
And, good news, the recent bouts of heavy rain have cleared the haze plaguing Singapore in recent times.
Clear skies are set to come again as the risk of transboundary haze turns low for the rest of this year.
Nea Stops Issuing Daily Haze Advisories
Earlier this week, the National Environment Agency (NEA) announced that it would be discontinuing its daily haze advisory with immediate effect.
For those unaware, ever since Singapore faced an increased risk of haze over the last few weeks, NEA has been issuing daily haze advisories, with many people keeping a close eye on the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) in Singapore.
You can watch this video to catch up on the haze situation recently.
With the daily haze advisory stopped, this means that haze is no longer a real concern for Singapore.
However, the advisories will return if the haze returns. We sure hope that doesn’t happen for the rest of this year.
Risk of Transboundary Haze Is Low for the Rest of 2023
Apart from the good news that the haze is gone (for now), it seems that the rest of 2023 will see clearer skies and fewer itchy eyes and throats.
The NEA also said in a media release from yesterday (24 October 2023) that the risk fo transboundary haze should be low for the rest of the year.
More specifically, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre “lowered the haze alert level from Level 2 (Risk of transboundary haze in the region) to Level 1 (Dry season) for the southern Southeast Asia region” which gave rise to this new prediction.
Of course, rain over Singapore and the surrounding region played a big part in this lowering of haze risk.
Thankfully, the rain, coupled with the low and stable hotspot counts over Sumatra, spells clear skies for us ahead.
But not all may be rejoicing, especially those who hate carrying umbrellas.
While the haze may be gone, Singapore is expected to “see wetter conditions overall in the coming weeks”.
The reason is the “transition to the inter-monsoon season from end October 2023”, where the region experiences more rainfall with “light and variable winds for the months of November and December 2023”.
Be sure to carry an umbrella when you head outdoors, or risk being drenched!