Haze may reach hazardous levels, says Grace Fu, as mask vending machines to be fully deployed by Friday night

“Depending on the weather, we can expect air quality to fluctuate, including the possibility of reaching hazardous levels,” says the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment.

Minister for Sustainability and Environment Grace Fu speaks during a press conference at the National Press Centre on Oct 16, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)

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SINGAPORE: Air quality in Singapore could reach hazardous levels depending on the weather, and the haze may last for some time, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on Friday (Oct 16).

Mask vending machines will be fully deployed by Friday night, she said, adding that about 10 per cent of eligible residents have collected their masks.

The distribution exercise began on Wednesday, with N95 masks progressively made available at designated collection points across Singapore. Some locations saw long queues and confusion, while others faced temporary stock shortages.

“I want to assure everyone that there are sufficient stocks of masks available,” Ms Fu said during a press conference.

“We understand that sometimes, masks may be temporarily unavailable at some retail outlets because of increased demand, but we want to assure Singaporeans that there are sufficient stocks of masks in their retailers' warehouse and in the government stockpiles.”

Retailers are continuously replenishing their shelves in stores, and the haze task force is working with them to keep masks available to the public, she said.

Singapore should be prepared for the haze to last for some time, said Ms Fu, stressing that the situation is fluid.

“Depending on the weather, we can expect air quality to fluctuate, including the possibility of reaching hazardous levels,” she added.

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Towards the inter-monsoon period at the end of October or early November, or in about three to four weeks, the government expects the situation to improve, said Ms Fu. Lighter winds around Singapore would then be less likely to bring haze from Sumatra or Kalimantan.

When the northeast monsoon brings wind from the north to northeast around early December, the haze will go in a direction away from Singapore, she said.

Air quality worsened across Singapore overnight, with the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings reaching the very unhealthy range in three regions on Friday.

Central Singapore was the first to cross into the very unhealthy band at midnight, with its 24-hour PSI climbing to 227 at 9am – the highest reading recorded this year – before easing slightly to 226 at 1pm.

National sports agency Sport Singapore said on Friday afternoon that outdoor and non-air-conditioned facilities at all ActiveSG sport centres had been temporarily closed amid the haze.

At the press conference with Ms Fu were Education Minister Desmond Lee and Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau. Member agencies of the government’s Haze Task Force were also present.

The Haze Task Force was convened last week. It is led by the National Environment Agency and comprises 28 government agencies.

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“根据天气情况，空气质量可能会波动，甚至可能达到危险水平，”可持续发展和环境部长表示。

2026年10月16日，永续及环境部长傅海燕在国家新闻中心举行记者招待会。（图片：中央社/伍华莱）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：新加坡永续发展及环境部长傅海燕周五（10月16日）表示，新加坡的空气质量可能会达到危险水平，具体取决于天气情况，而且雾霾可能会持续一段时间。

她表示，口罩自动售货机将于周五晚全面投入使用，并补充说，约有 10% 的符合条件的居民已经领取了口罩。

分发工作于周三开始，N95口罩陆续在新加坡各地的指定领取点发放。部分领取点出现排长队和混乱的情况，而另一些领取点则出现暂时性口罩短缺。

“我想向大家保证，口罩库存充足，”傅女士在新闻发布会上说。

“我们理解，由于需求增加，有时一些零售店可能会暂时缺货，但我们想向新加坡民众保证，零售商的仓库和政府储备中都有充足的口罩库存。”

她说，零售商正在不断补充商店货架上的商品，雾霾工作组正在与他们合作，以确保公众能够买到口罩。

傅女士表示，新加坡应该做好雾霾持续一段时间的准备，并强调情况瞬息万变。

她补充说：“根据天气情况，空气质量可能会波动，甚至有可能达到危险水平。”

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傅女士表示，政府预计在10月底或11月初的季风间歇期，也就是大约三到四周后，情况会有所好转。届时，新加坡附近风力减弱，来自苏门答腊或加里曼丹的雾霾就不太可能再来了。

她说，每年 12 月初东北季风带来北风转东北风时，雾霾就会朝远离新加坡的方向飘去。

新加坡一夜之间空气质量恶化，周五三个地区的 24 小时污染物标准指数 (PSI) 读数达到非常不健康的水平。

新加坡中部地区在午夜率先进入了非常不健康的空气污染等级，其 24 小时空气污染指数在上午 9 点攀升至 227，创下今年以来的最高纪录，之后在下午 1 点略微回落至 226。

新加坡国家体育局周五下午表示，由于雾霾天气，所有ActiveSG体育中心的室外和非空调设施已暂时关闭。

与傅女士一同出席新闻发布会的还有教育部长李智陞和人力部代部长刘嘉玲。政府烟霾防治工作组的成员机构也出席了发布会。

上周召开了雾霾问题特别工作组会议。该工作组由国家环境署牵头，成员包括28个政府机构。

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