Impacts

Health Impacts

During the haze period, quite a number of people experienced respiratory related problems; asthma attacks, bronchitis. Many too suffered from coughing/wheezing, runny noses and sore throats. People complained of eye irritation and reddening of eyes.? Those with respiratory problems (e.g. Asthma and chronic bronchitis), heart conditions (e.g. Chronic heart disease), skin conditions (Eczema) and the young and old would be severely affected by the haze.

Professor Euston Quah, head of economics department of Nanyang Technological University, mentioned that there was even a possibility of stunted growth for children’s lungs if the children were repeatedly exposed to haze for a long time.

From our interview with Doctor Chris Huang, he felt that this statement is not true. Haze is not likely to stunt the growth for children’s lungs, except for babies because their lungs are not fully developed yet. Hence, when they are exposed to particulate matter from the haze and their lungs are irritated, the result might be the scarring of their lungs. Furthermore, it might lead to other serious health conditions such as pneumonia, which could cause permanent damage to lungs. Nonetheless, this does not stunt the lung growth of the babies.

The haze pollutants contain particles such as ozone and sulphur dioxide (also greenhouse gases) may cause damage to the heart and lungs. Particulate matter 10 (PM10), the more commonly-found particle in the smoke haze, happens to be the most dangerous threat to lungs. When breathed in, PM10 might cause lungs to function at a decreased rate, causing shortness of breath!

During a serious haze situation, civilians would be advised by the government to stay indoors and limit outdoor activities so that the people are less exposed to unhealthy, polluted air. Nonetheless, PM10 is still able to enter buildings through fresh air vents.

In the First week of October 2006, when the haze was at its worst in Singapore, approximately 15 000 citizens complained of illnesses associated with the heart and lungs.

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Environmental Impacts

The haze situation in South-east Asia mainly resulted from the burning of the trees in Indonesian forests. The gases that evolved from the combustion are sulphur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. These are greenhouse gases and hence contributed to global warming and affected the atmosphere tremendously. This in turn speeds up global warming, causing shifting climate changes and unpredictability of the weather.

There is loss of biodiversity due to the forest fires. Flora and fauna are burnt and lost in the fires. We might have endangered even more species of animals and also destroyed rare species of organisms. This will cause a disruption in the ecosystem.

The haze pollutants cause a negative change in air quality in the neighboring countries. This would also affect the human’s respiratory system. Humans need fresh air, but if the air quality is not good, the human’s health will be affected detrimentally. Therefore, there would be a rise in patients with respiratory and eye problems caused by the inhalation of haze pollutants.

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Impact on Tourism

When haze hit Thailand on 12th of March 2007, flights were disrupted (13 cancelled) and had to be delayed. Tourists normally tend to shun countries with images of smoke and civilians wearing surgical masks, hence resulting in the decline of the tourism rate in the countries affected by the haze. Due to the fact that flights were cancelled, many tourists were left stranded at the airport since they had already checked out of their hotels while locals could still return back to their homes.

Though immediate cancellations were less observed, this showed that people planning for trips may reconsider their holiday destinations. Fewer tourists have visited Thailand, posing a problem towards Thailand’s tourism, and the root of the problem is haze. Should the haze problem be solved, then Thailand’s tourism would not be affected negatively.

An interviewed tourist was very annoyed with the haze situation because there was no sight of the sun after 9 days when he had come to Singapore to enjoy the sun.

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Economical Impacts

There would be a surge in medical costs since there would be many people going to the doctors for treatment of cough, and other haze-related illnesses. As a result, less people would turn up for work, reducing the efficiency of the different industries during that period.

People would flock to pharmacies to purchase eye drops to sooth their irritated eyes; face masks to filter the air they inhale, facial masks to prevent their faces from getting too dry and air purifiers to purify the air inside air-conditioned buildings.

Retailers and businesses may be affected due to the fact that most people try to stay indoors (definition: at home). However, there are some people who would rather stay indoors (definition: shopping centers) and spend their day there doing shopping, having meals, watching movies, et cetera. However, retailers in neighborhoods or places which are not air-conditioned will be affected adversely.

During the haze period, theme parks, sports facilities and coaches, alfresco dining restaurants and sightseeing tours (e.g. Ducktours in Singapore) had losses between 10 to 50 percent.
Singapore lost an estimated S$425 million during the 1997 haze period which lasted 3 months. US$210 million tourism; US$95 thousand recreation; US$5 million health; US$41 million visibility- airplanes and ships cannot navigate properly. The highest PSI was 226.

Should the haze last for a month, economic losses for Singapore would be maximum of $70 million, according to Professor Quah. Imagine, if a worse haze were to last for more than a month, what would be the consequences be like to the country?

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