PSI levels in the east hit 79 last night

SINGAPORE - Residents living in the eastern part of Singapore complained of a burning smell on Thursday night.

The Straits Times reported that those staying in Siglap, Bedok, Pasir Ris and East Coast Road were affected as early as 6.30pm.

The National Environment Agency showed a Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) level of 79 at 3am on Friday morning while the other regions reflected readings of 21 and below.

The amount of PM2.5 pollutants in the east also peaked at 79 at 3am before dropping to 78 at 8am. The PM2.5 reading measures small, toxic particles which can be emitted by forest fires, vehicles, power plants, refineries, ships and aircraft.

Twitter users flooded the site with pictures and updates on the haze. @Zhuangg said it "feels like a 300 outside my house" at 2am even though the reported PSI level was 68 then while @jkigay thought there was a "fire accident" in the east.

In response to speculation on fires, The Straits Times said that the Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed at 9.30pm that there had been none reported in the affected areas.

debwong@sph.com.sg