Published on: 17 September 2026, 9:51AM

Haze severity depends on hotspots, winds and atmospheric mixing

NUS CDE Professor Balasubramanian said haze severity and where it hits in Singapore vary each time, depending on fire hotspots, winds, and how the haze mixes and disperses throughout the day.

Professor Rajasekhar Balasubramanian from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the NUS College of Design and Engineering noted that the severity of haze—and its impact on air quality downwind—depends on multiple factors. These include the number and distribution of hotspot fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the prevailing wind direction and wind speed, the extent to which the haze mixes and disperses in the atmosphere, and different times of the day. 

He added that because the movement and dispersion of haze in the atmosphere are complex, the drift path can vary each time haze occurs. As a result, the degree of impact across different parts of Singapore can also change accordingly 

(Shin Min Daily, 12 September 2026）

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