The haze hit its worst level of 2026 on 9 October. Here’s how to plan around it

The skyline went soft again, and on 9 October the number said it was the worst day of the year.

On Friday 9 October the 24-hour PSI in the central region reached 186, the highest Singapore had recorded this year, and every region sat in the unhealthy band. The west logged the year's worst hourly PM2.5 reading in the small hours of the same day, and the previous 2026 high, 167 on 29 September, had been passed by 9am. The lesson for anyone planning time outdoors in the weeks after: check the reading on the day and keep the plan loose, because that week the readings swung between moderate and unhealthy inside a single evening.

The cause is familiar. The National Environment Agency traced the smoke to fire hotspots in southern and central Sumatra and West Kalimantan, and warned that “under the prevailing south-easterly or southerly winds, smoke haze may continue to drift towards Singapore.” Even the build-up to the Grand Prix happened under it: a Malay Mail photograph from 8 October shows workers readying the street circuit beneath a hazy skyline.

The longer view was less comforting. The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre expected strong El Niño conditions and below-normal rainfall from September to November, which raises the odds of long dry spells. The one hopeful note is the season: as the Southwest Monsoon gives way to the inter-monsoon period, October showers could wash some of it out of the air.

NEA’s advice at unhealthy levels is for healthy people to cut back on prolonged or strenuous outdoor activity, and for older people, pregnant women, children and anyone with heart or lung conditions to minimise or avoid it. On a bad day, move the long walk indoors: the reopened Singapore History Gallery and the National Gallery’s Fan Chang Tien retrospective are both on our list, and neither involves breathing hard.

Good to know Check haze.gov.sg or the myENV app before heading out. The 24-hour PSI is the guide for the day’s plans; the one-hour PM2.5 reading is better for deciding about the next hour. Readings vary across the island and can change quickly.

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Haze in Singapore