Diners, park goers take precautions as air quality deteriorates on Sept 19

On Sept 19 at East Coast Lagoon Food Village, there were few people queuing for food and several empty tables, a stark contrast to the bustling crowds seen on a typical weekend. SLHAZE

Published Sep 19, 2026, 07:38 PM

Updated Sep 19, 2026, 07:38 PM

SINGAPORE - It was not a typical Saturday for popular East Coast Lagoon Food Village and parks here when air quality deteriorated on Sept 19.

Crowds thinned out as people stayed home to avoid breathing in transboundary smoke blown inland from regional forest and peatland fires in neighbouring Indonesia.

On Sept 19, air quality readings in parts of Singapore crossed into the unhealthy region again after a few days of respite, with the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in the central region exceeding 100 from the afternoon.

As at 5pm, the 24-hr PSI was 80 to 108, in the moderate to unhealthy range, said the National Environment Agency.

When The Straits Times visited the open-air East Coast Lagoon Food Village at 4pm, there were few people queuing for food and several empty tables, a stark contrast to the bustling crowds seen on a typical weekend.

Ragamatthulla, 48, better known as Rahman, who runs Adigun Curry Claypot said: “By now, the dinner crowd would have started building up. But there are a lot of empty seats today.”

He added: “With this kind of weather, who wants to come out? This is especially for people with kids.”

Roy Tan, 38, who works at the hawker centre’s drink stall, also observed the drop in footfall on Friday and Saturday.

“I hope the weather will improve and business will pick up soon,” he said.

Some East Coast Park goers were seen wearing masks. People who often hang out in the area said that this was less than the usual crowd.

Mohammad Hafiq, 37, who went to the beach with his wife, said they decided to stick to earlier plans to let their 10 month-old daughter experience the seaside for the first time but will leave if the air quality worsens.

“We just want to let our daughter have her first experience at the beach. We will take more precautions once we can smell the haze,” he said.

At Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, a daily morning qigong session for residents aged 50 and above has been suspended for the past week due to the haze. The session typically draws 10 to 20 attendees, and more on weekends.

Since the haze hit Singapore in September, the organisers have been sending daily messages to the participants to confirm if the session is proceeding.

One of the participants said she hopes that the weather can improve soon so the activities are no longer cancelled at the last minute.

But the participants may need to hold their breath. NEA’s advisory on Sept 19 said that dry conditions continued and are expected to persist over Kalimantan and southern Sumatra.

“Smoke plumes from fires in these areas were observed drifting towards Singapore,” the agency said in a statement at 6pm.

“There is a risk of smoke haze affecting Singapore as the prevailing winds are expected to blow from the east-southeast or southeast. The 24-hr PSI for Singapore is forecast to be in the high-moderate to mid-unhealthy range.”

Parks/Nature reserves

9月19日，东海岸泻湖美食村人烟稀少，排队买食物的人寥寥无几，还有几张空桌子，与周末熙熙攘攘的景象形成鲜明对比。SLHAZE

发布于 2026 年 9 月 19 日晚上 7:38

更新于2026年9月19日晚上7:38

新加坡——9月19日，空气质量恶化，对于这里颇受欢迎的东海岸泻湖美食村和公园来说，这并非一个典型的星期六。

由于人们待在家中，避免吸入从邻国印度尼西亚区域森林和泥炭地火灾吹向内陆的跨境烟雾，人群逐渐减少。

9 月 19 日，新加坡部分地区的空气质量在经历了几天的缓解后再次进入不健康区域，中部地区的 24 小时污染物标准指数 (PSI) 从下午开始超过 100。

国家环境局表示，截至下午 5 点，24 小时空气污染指数 (PSI) 为 80 至 108，处于中度至不健康范围。

《海峡时报》记者下午 4 点探访东海岸泻湖露天美食村时，发现排队买食物的人寥寥无几，还有几张空桌子，与周末熙熙攘攘的人群形成了鲜明的对比。

48岁的拉加马图拉（Ragamatthulla），更为人熟知的名字是拉赫曼（Rahman），他经营着一家名为Adigun Curry Claypot的咖喱砂锅店。他说：“现在，晚餐时段的顾客应该已经开始多了。但今天却有很多空位。”

他补充道：“这种天气，谁愿意出门？尤其对于有孩子的家庭来说更是如此。”

38岁的Roy Tan在小贩中心的饮料摊工作，他也注意到周五和周六客流量下降。

“我希望天气能尽快好转，生意也能尽快好转，”他说。

一些前往东海岸公园的游客被看到戴着口罩。经常在该地区活动的人表示，今天的游客数量比往常少。

37 岁的穆罕默德·哈菲克和妻子一起去了海滩，他说他们决定坚持之前的计划，让 10 个月大的女儿第一次体验海边，但如果空气质量恶化，他们就会离开。

“我们只是想让女儿体验一下海滩的乐趣。一旦闻到雾霾的味道，我们会采取更多预防措施。”他说。

由于雾霾影响，碧山-宏茂桥公园面向50岁及以上居民的每日晨间气功课程已暂停一周。该课程通常吸引10至20人参加，周末人数更多。

自9月份新加坡遭遇雾霾以来，主办方每天都会向参与者发送信息，确认会议是否继续进行。

其中一位参与者表示，她希望天气能尽快好转，这样活动就不会再在最后一刻被取消了。

但参与者们可能需要屏住呼吸。国家环境局9月19日发布的公告称，加里曼丹岛和苏门答腊南部地区持续干旱，预计这种情况还将持续。

该机构在下午 6 点发表的一份声明中表示：“观察到这些地区火灾产生的烟雾正向新加坡飘去。”

“由于盛行风向预计为东南偏东或东南风，新加坡存在受到烟霾影响的风险。新加坡24小时空气污染指数预计将处于中高至中等不健康水平。”

公园/自然保护区