Singapore pollution spikes, East Timor shuts schools as Indonesia wildfire haze intensifies

Singapore air pollution reaches its highest level of the year East Timor suspends face-to-face classes for three days from Oct 15 Indonesia raises firefighting personnel to more than 69,000 from nearly 44,000 in mid-September Respiratory illness cases in seven Indonesian provinces rise to 283,270 by Oct 13 SINGAPORE/DILI/JAKARTA, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Pollution readings in Singapore reached their highest level this year on Wednesday while East Timor shut its schools for three days in response to intensifying smoke and haze from Indonesia's wildfires. Singapore's 1-hour PM2.5 reading hit a high of 284 micrograms per cubic metre in the western part of the island state, entering the National Environmental Agency's "very high" band for the first time during the current haze period. The East Timor government said in a statement that it was suspending face-to-face learning activities for three days starting from October 15 "due to contamination by pollutant particles from wildfires in neighbouring regions or countries". East Timor did not identify Indonesia by name, but it shares an island with a part of Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province, where a number of hotspots have been reported.