Health and Economic Effects of the Haze

According to the Health Promotion Board (2013), the main air pollutant would be particulate matter. Particulate matter refers to a complex mix of extremely small particles and liquid droplets made up of a number of components, including acids, organic chemicals, metals and soil or dust particles. Those found in haze are termed "fine particles" and tend to about 2.5 micrometers in diameter or even smaller (EPA, 2013). They're pretty small so can you imagine how easily we inhale these particles?!

While much of the focus of the effects of haze is on the most vulnerable (read: young children, women and the elderly), the "healthier" individuals are far from being spared. Short term exposure over a period of days to high levels of haze particles may cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat in them too! In people who already have chronic heart or lung diseases such as asthma or heart failure, consequences of the haze are surely more dire. One doctor who runs a private clinic in Singapore, and who didn't wish to be identified reiterates in the Southeast Asian Wall Street Journal (2013), "This is likely to be bad for anybody who is immuno-compromised or has heart or respiratory ailments." However, he assured that the haze itself should not result in too many long-term health issues, unless it stays for a long period. 

If you had noticed however, these effects are over a period of days. The 2013 Southeast Asian haze had lasted more than a month so just imagine the health effects! Exact figures for the health effects for the 2013 Southeast Asian haze were not readily available so let us just use the 1997 figures by Shanta Christina Emmanuel, a member of the Family Health Service in the Ministry of Health in Singapore on her general lecture on the "Impact to lung health of haze from forest fires: A Singapore experience"as a benchmark. Findings from the health impact surveillance during the 1997 haze period showed that there was a 30% increase in attendances for haze-related conditions and there was an increase in accident and emergency attendances for haze-related complaints. Putting two and two together, the effects from the 2013 haze must have been much worse, given the higher levels of toxicity within the atmosphere.

This video by the Tan Tock Seng hospital provides a concise explanation of the health effects of the haze. Have a look!

Aside from health effects, the haze has caused the affected countries, including Singapore, $9bn. According to the International Business Times in the article "Singapore Haze: Smog May Cost Economy More than 1997 Pollution Crisis", a number of businesses have been forced to close and there are sustained fears about the impact on Singapore's tourism industry as visitors stay away because of health concerns. Tourism accounts for 4% of Singapore's GDP and is worth around $18bn to the economy.