How the haze affects swimming, travelling, temperature and breathing

Singapore flag.

Pool with blue sky. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Pool with white sky. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

My relatives in Singapore look out of the window and decide whether to go swimming in the nearby pool which is visible from the window.

The first question I ask myself is, how do you feel?

You could then go by the published and online pollution indexes, which vary according to whether you are in the west or centre or south or north. Yesterday in Singapore's West and other areas the raedings all day were in their sixties.

Under 100 is ok, say my family.

You can judge by whether you are clearing your throat and have itchy eyes.

But even if it's ok for the fit and healthy or those taking a short walk, what about sport or jogging or doing exercise outdoors or for long periods? How is it affecting you, especially if any of you and your family are in the vulnerable groups, children, pregnant, or the elderly?

Visibility
You can see the distant hill silhouetted green against the sky, which is good. But the whole sky is white, not blue with white clouds, but almost uniform white. If the place is deserted and everybody is wearing masks, a bad sign.

Swimmers Out And About?
If you see a swimmer, still doubtful. A swimming class? Small children? Obviously the teacher doesn't want to lose money. But what if mothers cancel out of concern for their children?

I went down and the swimming instructor greeted me.

"Water cold," he said.

The swimming instructor usefully informed me: "Haze - no sun. Wind cools water."

I replied, "I thought that the wind moved the clouds and blew away the smoke and the haze."

"Yes, but wind also cools water."

(I later reported this to a member of my family who is a teacher. He commented, "A good thing the swimming instructor isn't teaching them English."

I replied, " No, but he is teaching me the sentence construction in Chinese. Chinese means Mandarin - although many people in Singapore speak dialects such as Hokkien.)

After swimming, back to learning Chinese.

That was my experience of haze in Singapore in September 2019.

Swimming outdoors is one of the attractions of Singapore. Knowledge of how to judge haze and investigate haze online is handy. It could be useful to you anywhere in the world or later in the year, or just for general knowledge and conversation with people who have come back from countries affected by haze.

Useful Websites
HAZE
National Environmental Agency (Singapore)
https://www.haze.gov.sg/resources/readings-over-the-last-24-hours
https://www.haze.gov.sg/resources/portable-air-cleaners
https://www.haze.gov.sg/resources/air-cleaning-devices

LEARN CHINESE
chineasy.com
duolingo.com

TRAVEL TO & FROM ASIA
singaporeair.com

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. i have other posts on haze, Singapore, Asia, the UK, learning languages and more. Please share links to your favourite posts.