PUBLISHED ONMarch 24, 2026 1:27 PMBYSean LerIf you've noticed a burning smell in the air on Tuesday (March 24) afternoon, here's why. The fires in Johor are back.
Checks by AsiaOne on Google Maps' crisis-related alerts show at least two fires listed as "severe" within 50km of Singapore, to the east and north-east.
The two fires are in the Kota Tinggi districts of Pengerang and Sedili Kechil.
A 150ha forest fire along the Desaru-Pengerang Highway in Kota Tinggi has been raging since last Saturday (March 21). This is approximately 22km to the east of Singapore's eastern tip at Changi.
Bernama reported the Johor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) as saying that the fire involves forest and dry scrubland, with flames spreading rapidly due to strong winds, raising the risk of further spread.
JBPM also told Bernama that about 40 per cent, or 60ha of the area on fire has been extinguished, while the remaining 60 per cent or 90ha is still burning.
Meanwhile, another fire is alit at Sedili Kechil, also in Kota Tinggi. This is approximately 50km to the north-east of Singapore.
Checks on the Kota Tinggi Fire Department's Facebook page indicate that firefighters there were involved in a "fire at a hilly forest area" on Monday night.
The size of the affected area is still being verified.
In a statement on Facebook at around 6.20pm on Monday, Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) said it has continued to observe hotspots in eastern Johor.
The hotspots to the north-east and east of Singapore correlate with those shown on Google Map's crisis-related alerts.
NEA added that the one-hour PM2.5 level reached 69 at 2am on Tuesday. This is in the "elevated" range.
Checks on NEA's air quality microsite at 8pm indicate that the 1-hour PM2.5 reading across Singapore is back in the normal range.
However, the 24-hour Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) ranged from 43 to 69, which is within the "good" to "moderate" range.
The agency warned of a continued risk of haze due to the dry conditions over Singapore and the surrounding region until the end of the week.
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