The peak of the haze occurred about 2.5 weeks ago, with the worst conditions running from midday on W 19 June through midday on Sa 22 June. The air was moderately polluted for the first week after the peak and then mildly polluted last week. Starting a few days ago, the sky has cleared and pollution levels are low. Air quality is now good!
Displayed are four pairs of photos. Each pair shows the same scene. In each pair, I shot the left hand photo at about 9 AM on Friday 21 June; I shot the right-hand photo at about 9 AM this morning, Monday 8 July. Other than cropping, the photos are as recorded by the camera (no post-processing).
The third frame presents a plot of the official fine particle concentration data as reported by Singapore's National Environment Agency. The concentrations are 24-hour average values. The relevant health-based standard in the US is 35 micrograms/m3, which is shown by a horizontal dashed line. There are five monitoring stations in Singapore (west, east, south, north, and central). The three traces map out the minimum, median, and maximum recorded level each day. The worst of the haze is clearly evident, with fine particle concentrations approaching 300 micrograms/m3. The ongoing improvement in conditions since the peak is also evident.
I wanted to commend you on branching out from your standard posting style. I love how you took the exact photos in comparison and then used some program to combine them (picasa? powerpoint?). Besides, the story is very interesting. Are they expecting any long-term health issues from the few weeks of bad air? or was there also a spike of respiratory-related illness and death in those bad days?
I started this blog during the first half of 2009, when, along with my wife, Ingrid, and youngest daughter, Daniela, I spent considerable time in Costa Rica and Spain. Here I recorded a summary of my impressions on most days during our travels. The observations are primarily made through the lens of my camera, augmented by a few paragraphs.
After returning to California in June 2009, I decided to continue the blog. Entries when I'm in California will be sporadic; I'll post more frequently when I travel. The goal will be to continue learning and sharing with the subject inspired by what I happened to find visually interesting.
Click on the photos to see larger versions.
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Thanks for visiting!
Acknowledgment: Here is a big THANK YOU to my friend and colleague, Charlie, for his feedback and encouragement of my photography, especially in connection to my 2006 work in Denmark (not posted here) and my 2009 photos from Costa Rica.
2 comments:
this post brings out the scientist voice in you! I feel like I'm in a lecture class at UCB listening to your voice.
I love it!
I wanted to commend you on branching out from your standard posting style. I love how you took the exact photos in comparison and then used some program to combine them (picasa? powerpoint?). Besides, the story is very interesting. Are they expecting any long-term health issues from the few weeks of bad air? or was there also a spike of respiratory-related illness and death in those bad days?
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