Hi everyone! Good day to all!
For this blog post, I will be looking into air pollution in Singapore during the circuit breaker measures. Similar to most cities around the world, Singapore also has seen some improvements in air quality as economic activities and social activities are restricted during the circuit breaker.
Based on NEA findings, the average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) level in the two weeks before the circuit breaker period was 17ug/m3 a fall from 27ug/m3 same time last year (Tan, 2020). The initial analysis discovered by NEA shows that the first two weeks of circuit breaker has resulted in a reduction in the average level of NO2 decreasing to 13ug/m3, improving air quality standards (Tan, 2020). In addition to that, the average levels of PM10 and PM2.5, carbon monoxide (CO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) had fallen by between 8 per cent and 43 per cent.
An image of clear blue skies photographed from Buffalo Road (The Straits Times, May 2020)
A separate study is conducted by Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) to quantify the impact that these measures had on outdoor air pollution levels (Li & Tartarini, 2020). The study discovered that the concentrations of the following pollutants PM10, PM2.5, NO2, CO, and SO2 decreased by 23, 29, 54, 6, and 52%, respectively, whilst that of O3 increased by 18% (Li & Tartarini, 2020). The southern and western parts of Singapore had the most visible decrease in air pollution in Singapore, which is due to the local spatial distribution of heavy industries and the airport (Li & Tartarini, 2020). Furthermore, the levels of PM2.5 and NO2 were significantly correlated with the reduction trend of human mobility data (Li & Tartarini, 2020)..
During the circuit breaker, movement is very much restricted as the majority of the working population who can telecommute work from home and students transit into full online-based learning. This has reduced air pollution coming from land traffic. Singapore has long been unable to meet the guidelines for various air pollutants, particularly particulate matter. However, as seen from the data, during the circuit breaker, most air pollutants reduced temporarily. This occurs as the main sources for N02 comes from vehicles on the roads and oil refining activities.
Similarly to the other regions such as EU, such political measure to limit the spread of COVID-19 by restricting movement, have to serve as a way to break the transmission, it has also indirectly brought positive consequences to the environment. The improvements in air quality in Singapore, emphasises that more effort is needed by the government role as a maker of regulation and policies with regards to changing the behaviour of Singaporeans to urban modes of transport. For instance, the article also highlighted that more technologies are needed to be adopted to improve urban air quality. Some active measures can include more research into the use of electric vehicles as well as utilising renewable energy resources.
To conclude, the government has the political power and influence to bring society to transit into a low-carbon dependence community. It is worth noting that the pandemic has forced the government to place in drastic measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, at the same time resulting in improvements in air quality, as major day-to-day activities are reduced.
Thank you for reading! Do look out for the next post in which I will be looking at air pollution air travel.
References:
Li, J., & Tartarini, F. (2020). Changes in Air Quality during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Singapore and Associations with Human Mobility Trends. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 20(8), 1748-1758. doi:10.4209/aaqr.2020.06.0303
Tan, C. (2020, May 05). Coronavirus: Air quality improves as Singapore slows down under circuit breaker measures. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/coronavirus-air-quality-improves-as-singapore-slows-down-under-circuit-breaker
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/spore-air-quality-improves-amid-reduced-activities