Singapore Air Pollution: Citizens Improvise Amid Dwindling Surgical, Gas Masks

Singapore's air-pollution index has breached 400 on Friday after five full days of non-stop smoke billowing from neighbor Indonesia due to the latter's forest fires. And with the smog expected to last through for the next two weeks, citizens have been forced to improvise safety nets to protect themselves in the face of dwindling stock of surgical and gas masks.

"We can't tell how this problem is going to develop because it depends on the burning, it depends on the weather, it depends on the wind," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong said on Thursday.

"It can easily last for several weeks and quite possibly it could last longer until the dry season ends in Sumatra which may be September or October."

Singapore netizens have taken their frustration on Facebook about the declining stocks of safety items.

One Singapore netizen said she's already on the verge of buying masks at hospital pharmacies since stocks have ran out in both Guardian and Watson's.

One netizen was forced to buy her family's supply from Amazon for $20 for 26 pcs.

This citizen found good use of her un-often used scarf.

When her father saw her dire situation, he offered to ship her and her husband their much needed surgical masks.

"Our supplies are running low here too," Philip Koh, a general practitioner in Singapore, told AFP.

Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, located at Irrawaddy Road in Singapore, on Thursday said it will give away free surgical masks at their driveway from 10 am-11 am and 3 pm-4 pm on Friday.

Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit 401 on Friday at 12:00 (04:00 GMT), its highest so far.

According to Singapore government guidelines, a sustained PSI average level of above 400 on a 24-hour basis "may be life-threatening to ill and elderly persons."

People at Singapore practically have nowhere to turn or run to just to avoid the smog and its smell.

"There's a strong stench even inside the house. This haze is totally affecting people now. My Eyes itchy, my breathing tight," a Singapore netizen said.

Work continues to push through around Singapore as the federal government did not call for a work holiday.

"Ninja mode on! Mask at work, during work!" one netizen said.

Air flights have been disrupted both at Singapore's Changi airport and Riau province in Indonesia, mainly due to the illegal slash-and-burn land clearance in Sumatra, which is just west of Singapore.