Haze in Singapore: Runners train in malls, families head for indoor playgrounds

Fitness enthusiasts spent their Saturday morning running laps through Marina Square with X-Run Singapore.

PHOTO: JOSEPH ESTRELLA

BNB Diviyadhaarshini

Published Oct 18, 2026, 01:45 PM

Updated Oct 18, 2026, 01:45 PM

Singapore’s worst haze since 2015 has pushed runners into malls, gyms and indoor workouts, while clubs and organisers use PSI and PM2.5 readings to decide if runs can go ahead.

Several races and sports facilities were cancelled or closed, including the Great Eastern Women’s Run, Singapore Half Marathon and ISCA run, as organisers warned of “worsening air quality”.

Families with children have moved to indoor playgrounds and away from outdoor parks and pools, as the haze has caused worry, sadness and health issues for some children.

SINGAPORE – As the worst haze since 2015 enshrouds Singapore , runners have turned to running inside malls, yoga and other indoor exercise routines, and families are heading towards indoor playgrounds.

Loy Suan Sheng Elmer, who usually runs outdoors up to six times a week, did not have any of his regular sessions for more than a week from Oct 9, due to the worsening air quality.

Instead, the insurance manager could run only on a treadmill.

On the morning of Oct 17, he joined X-Run Singapore, an indoor event at Marina Square mall where about 15 fitness enthusiasts ran laps within the premises.

“It beats running on a treadmill,” said Loy , adding that the mall also provides a cooler environment for running.

Joseph Estrella, 49, retail associate at Key Power Sports, organiser of the indoor run , and run lead for X-Run Singapore, said the session was a way for runners to continue their marathon preparations without compromising their well-being.

Participants ran varying distances from 9km to 21km, on the mall’s second and third floors between 7am and 9am.

Estrella said X-Run Singapore intends to make Saturday indoor runs a regular alternative whenever high air quality levels make outdoor training unsuitable . The next mall run is slated for Oct 24.

Singapore has registered unhealthy 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings daily since Oct 5 – as at Oct 17, the 13-day period was the longest continuous stretch of poor air quality the country has had to endure since the 2015 haze crisis.

Like X-Run, another running club here that usually trains five times a week had also cancelled its sessions from the start of October amid worsening haze conditions.

Eugene Beh, founder of Singapore Runners Club, said the group monitors the 1-hour PM2.5 readings regularly before deciding whether to proceed with the day’s planned run.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Oct 16, he said the club’s members, which number around 17,400, have been forced to turn to alternatives to get their workouts. Beh, 52, suggests indoor gym workouts and at-home workouts such as yoga and stretching.

The club is also encouraging its members to engage in stair-climbing workouts in an enclosed space.

Many other fitness enthusiasts have been left disappointed after several running events were cancelled due to the haze.

The 2026 edition of the Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR), slated to take place on Nov 1, was cancelled on Oct 16 owing to the “worsening air quality” caused by the transboundary haze.

The Singapore Half Marathon 2026 Powered By JomRun was cancelled by organisers. The race, with 5km, 10km, and 21km routes, was originally scheduled to take place on Oct 11.

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) run, slated for Oct 17, was also cancelled the night before.

Another event, The Garmin Run 2026, is set to take place on Oct 25. On its Instagram page, the organisers said they are monitoring the 24-hour PSI and 1-hour PM2.5 readings and will continue monitoring the air quality on race day.

The decision on whether to carry on with the race, which has 6,000 registered participants, will be made at 11pm on Oct 24, the night before the event, a Garmin spokesperson said.

No participants have requested to withdraw from the run, which has a 10km route and a 21km route, she added

“If the half marathon (21km) is truncated to 10km, all resources from medical and aid stations will be deployed to the 10km route,” she said, adding that all aid stations have sufficient hydration to be provided for runners who require assistance and will have masks on standby for runners who may require them.

“All vulnerable individuals are strongly advised not to proceed with the run if the run proceeds as planned,” the spokesperson said.

On Oct 15, ActiveSG’s outdoor and non-air-conditioned sports and recreation facilities across most of Singapore were closed as the haze situation worsened. Many were also closed the next day.

Outdoor recreational activities elsewhere, for adults and children alike, have also taken a beating.

Long Hatta, operations manager at cable ski-park Wake Park in East Coast Park, said they observed about a 50% decrease in customer footfall at the park, noting that this was an estimated figure. The park’s bar, which operates in an open-air, al fresco setting, too has seen roughly half its customer count drop, he added.

Families with young children to keep occupied have had to turn away from swimming pools and outdoor playgrounds.

While such outdoor spaces are regular haunts for kitchen operations manager George and his seven-year-old son, the worsening haze has forced them to rethink their family outings.

The 58-year-old, who declined to share his surname, has been taking his son to an indoor playground near their home in the north instead, as he worries that the poor air quality could affect the boy, who has a sensitive nose.

“I’m glad there’s this indoor playground option because the haze has been so bad for the past few weeks,” said the kitchen operations manager, who has visited Sunshine Childhood Playground in Bishan with his son five to seven times over the past month.

He said his son’s school had also warned parents that it might have to close if the situation persisted.

For Felicia Lim, 38, managing a young child with the air quality worsening means trying to minimise her asthmatic daughter’s time outdoors.

“My daughter can get breathless if she stays out too long in the haze, so we are opting for indoor playgrounds nowadays so she can still enjoy her play time. But she still prefers playing outdoors, so she’s rather sad about it,” the human resources executive said of her eight-year-old.

A man, who identified himself only as Ray, said he would take his children to the kids pool at Tampines Hub regularly before the haze, but stopped as his kids started to itch after a day at the pool. The 40-year-old said this was not something his children usually experience.

On Oct 17, all ActiveSG sport facilities resumed operations as haze conditions eased slightly.

A Sport Singapore spokesperson said the PSI forecast guides planning for the next day’s operations and activities, including when air quality is expected to reach the very unhealthy range, while the latest 1-hour PM2.5 readings help determine whether activities need to be adjusted based on prevailing localised conditions.

Refunds for bookings, gym and swim passes affected by haze-related facility closures are processed automatically and people who wish to voluntarily cancel bookings at facilities that remain open may request a refund, she added.

Beh was reunited on Oct 17 with about 30 members from the club who took part in a 30-minute run in Sembawang. Although the original route spanned between 7km and 10km, the run was cut short by a 1-hour PM2.5 of 80 in the north.

“It is good to be back,” he said.

Additional reporting by Jean Wee

Rosalind Ang is a business journalist who has been with The Straits Times since 2021. She covers e-commerce and stories on retail businesses.

健身爱好者们周六上午参加了 X-Run Singapore 组织的滨海广场跑步活动。

照片：约瑟夫·埃斯特雷拉

BNB Diviyadhaarshini

发布于 2026 年 10 月 18 日下午 1:45

更新于2026年10月18日下午1:45

新加坡遭遇了自 2015 年以来最严重的雾霾，迫使跑步爱好者们涌向商场、健身房和室内运动场所，而俱乐部和组织者则利用 PSI 和 PM2.5 读数来决定跑步活动是否可以继续进行。

由于组织者警告“空气质量恶化”，包括大东方女子跑、新加坡半程马拉松和ISCA跑在内的多项赛事和体育设施被取消或关闭。

由于雾霾给一些孩子带来了担忧、悲伤和健康问题，有孩子的家庭纷纷将孩子转移到室内游乐场，远离室外公园和游泳池。

新加坡——自 2015 年以来最严重的雾霾笼罩着新加坡，跑步爱好者们纷纷转向商场跑步、瑜伽和其他室内运动，而家庭则前往室内游乐场。

由于空气质量恶化，通常每周户外跑步多达六次的罗宣生埃尔默，从 10 月 9 日起超过一周没有进行任何常规训练。

相反，这位保险经理只能在跑步机上跑步。

10 月 17 日上午，他参加了在滨海广场购物中心举行的 X-Run Singapore 室内跑步活动，约有 15 名健身爱好者在商场内跑步。

“这比在跑步机上跑步好多了，”洛伊说，并补充说，商场也为跑步提供了更凉爽的环境。

49 岁的 Joseph Estrella 是 Key Power Sports 的零售助理，也是室内跑步活动的组织者，同时还是 X-Run Singapore 的跑步领队。他表示，这项活动是跑步者在不损害自身健康的前提下继续进行马拉松备战的一种方式。

参赛者在早上 7 点至 9 点之间，在商场的二楼和三楼进行 9 公里至 21 公里不等距离的跑步比赛。

Estrella表示，X-Run Singapore计划在空气质量恶劣导致不适宜户外训练时，将周六的室内跑步活动作为常规替代方案。下一次商场跑步活动定于10月24日举行。

自 10 月 5 日以来，新加坡每天的 24 小时污染物标准指数 (PSI) 读数均不健康——截至 10 月 17 日，这 13 天是该国自 2015 年雾霾危机以来所经历的最长的连续空气质量差时期。

与 X-Run 一样，这里另一个通常每周训练五次的跑步俱乐部也因雾霾情况恶化而从 10 月初开始取消了训练。

新加坡跑步俱乐部创始人尤金·贝表示，该俱乐部会定期监测 1 小时 PM2.5 读数，然后再决定是否进行当天的跑步计划。

10月16日，他在接受《海峡时报》采访时表示，该俱乐部约17400名会员被迫寻找其他锻炼方式。52岁的贝赫建议会员们进行室内健身房锻炼以及瑜伽、拉伸等居家锻炼。

俱乐部还鼓励会员在室内进行爬楼梯锻炼。

由于雾霾导致多场跑步赛事取消，许多其他健身爱好者也感到失望。

原定于 11 月 1 日举行的 2026 年大东部女子长跑赛 (GEWR) 于 10 月 16 日因跨境雾霾造成的“空气质量恶化”而被取消。

由JomRun赞助的2026年新加坡半程马拉松赛已被主办方取消。该赛事设有5公里、10公里和21公里三个组别，原定于10月11日举行。

原定于 10 月 17 日举行的新加坡特许会计师协会 (ISCA) 跑步活动也在前一天晚上被取消。

另一项赛事——2026 年 Garmin Run 将于 10 月 25 日举行。组织者在其 Instagram 页面上表示，他们正在监测 24 小时 PSI 值和 1 小时 PM2.5 读数，并将在比赛当天继续监测空气质量。

Garmin 的一位发言人表示，是否继续进行这项有 6000 名注册参赛者的比赛的决定，将在 10 月 24 日晚上 11 点做出，也就是比赛前一天晚上。

她补充说，目前还没有参赛者要求退出比赛，比赛路线分为10公里和21公里两条。

“如果半程马拉松（21公里）缩短为10公里，所有医疗和补给站的资源都将部署到10公里赛道上，”她说道，并补充说，所有补给站都备有充足的饮用水，可以为需要帮助的跑者提供，并且会备有口罩，以备跑者需要。

发言人表示：“强烈建议所有易感人群不要参加此次跑步活动，如果活动按计划进行的话。”

10月15日，由于雾霾加剧，ActiveSG在新加坡大部分地区的户外及无空调体育休闲设施关闭。许多设施在第二天也继续关闭。

其他地方的户外休闲活动，无论是成人还是儿童，都受到了严重影响。

东海岸公园滑水公园（Wake Park）的运营经理朗·哈塔表示，他们观察到公园客流量下降了约50%，并指出这只是一个估计数字。他还补充说，公园内的露天酒吧的顾客数量也减少了近一半。

有幼儿需要照看的家庭不得不放弃游泳池和户外游乐场。

虽然这样的户外空间是厨房运营经理乔治和他七岁的儿子经常光顾的地方，但日益严重的雾霾迫使他们重新考虑家庭出游。

这位 58 岁的男子拒绝透露自己的姓氏，他担心糟糕的空气质量会影响鼻子敏感的儿子，所以一直带儿子去北部家附近的室内游乐场玩耍。

“我很高兴有室内游乐场这个选择，因为过去几周雾霾非常严重，”这位厨房运营经理说道。过去一个月里，他曾带着儿子去过碧山的阳光儿童游乐场五到七次。

他说，他儿子的学校也警告家长，如果这种情况持续下去，学校可能不得不关闭。

对于 38 岁的 Felicia Lim 来说，在空气质量恶化的情况下照顾年幼的孩子意味着要尽量减少患有哮喘的女儿在户外活动的时间。

“我女儿如果在雾霾中待太久就会呼吸困难，所以我们现在选择去室内游乐场，这样她仍然可以享受玩耍的乐趣。但她仍然更喜欢在户外玩耍，所以她对此感到很伤心，”这位人力资源主管谈到她八岁的女儿时说道。

一位自称雷的男子表示，在雾霾出现之前，他经常带孩子去淡滨尼中心（Tampines Hub）的儿童泳池玩耍，但自从孩子们在泳池玩了一天后开始出现皮肤瘙痒的症状后，他就停止了带他们去那里。这位40岁的男子说，他的孩子以前从未出现过这种情况。

10月17日，随着雾霾情况略有缓解，ActiveSG所有体育设施恢复运营。

新加坡体育理事会发言人表示，PSI预测可以指导第二天运营和活动的规划，包括空气质量预计何时达到非常不健康的范围，而最新的1小时PM2.5读数有助于确定是否需要根据当地当前的情况调整活动。

她补充说，受雾霾相关设施关闭影响的预订、健身房和游泳通行证的退款将自动处理，希望自愿取消仍然开放的设施预订的人可以申请退款。

10月17日，Beh与俱乐部约30名成员在三巴旺重聚，进行了一次30分钟的跑步活动。虽然原定路线长达7至10公里，但由于北部地区PM2.5地区持续1小时、气温高达80摄氏度，跑步活动被迫缩短。

“很高兴能回来，”他说。

Jean Wee 亦有报道

Rosalind Ang 是一位商业记者，自 2021 年起就职于《海峡时报》。她主要报道电子商务和零售业相关新闻。