A live test, not a one-off event
On 15 September 2026, all five regions of Singapore entered the unhealthy range at the same time, the first time that has happened since 2019. The central region's 24-hour PSI reached 154. By 6pm on 24 September, showers had pulled the reading back down to 62–76 across the island, moderate territory, with one-hour PM2.5 readings back to normal. NEA's forecast for the days ahead still sat in the moderate to low-unhealthy band, because the wind, not the rain, decides what happens next: prevailing east-southeasterly and southeasterly winds can carry smoke from Kalimantan and southern Sumatra towards Singapore at short notice.
The Singapore Institute of International Affairs had already flagged this as more than an ordinary season. In June, it issued a rare “Red” risk rating for severe transboundary haze in the second half of 2026, citing El Niño, economic pressure and rising biofuel demand together. It is only the second Red rating SIIA has issued since it started its Haze Outlook in 2019 — the first was in 2023. By late September, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre had Alert Level 3 active for the southern ASEAN region, with widespread hotspots across Kalimantan and Sumatra and moderate to dense smoke observed over the area.
None of this means Singapore is heading for a fixed, sustained crisis. It means the swing between good days and bad days is now the operating condition, and a plan built around a single threshold will be out of date by the following week.
"That volatility is the starting point for what follows, across risk, finance, operations, projects and people — because haze does not stay inside one function's remit once it starts moving."
Risk Managers: connect the risk registers
Haze needs to sit inside the same register as severe weather and supply-chain interruption, not beside it as a separate advisory. That means mapping exposed employees and activities, setting escalation thresholds, naming who can restrict or suspend work, and testing how haze compounds risks already on the books — heat stress, reduced visibility, transport delays, contractor fatigue. Run the scenario both ways: a short, sharp spike and a longer stretch of readings that won't settle.
CFOs: put a number on disruption
The cost shows up in several places at once — overtime, replacement labour, medical claims, protective equipment, air filtration, postponed work, liquidated damages, logistics delays, lost revenue. Treating each of those as a one-off expense misses the pattern. Pre-agreed spending authority for protective measures also matters more than it sounds: it is the difference between an operations team acting in the moment and one waiting on approval while conditions worsen.
Operations leaders: build the fallback before you need it
Outdoor and travel-intensive work needs a workable alternative on the shelf, not one improvised on the day — moving tasks indoors, rotating jobs, reducing strenuous work, adding rest breaks, deferring non-essential activity, shifting delivery windows, activating remote service arrangements. The Ministry of Manpower's own guidance asks employers to assess haze risk, limit prolonged or strenuous outdoor work where they can, and provide protection where they can't.
Project teams: protect the milestone and the contract position
Construction, engineering, events and field-based projects are the ones most exposed to restricted work windows and postponed inspections. The commercial question is whether the contract wording actually helps: haze does not automatically trigger a force majeure or delay clause. Notice requirements, extension-of-time provisions, change control and evidence protocols need reviewing against what the contract actually says, not what feels reasonable.
HR leaders: give people certainty, not just sympathy
Some employees will be more exposed than others, and a confidential channel for requesting adjustments does more for trust than a general advisory. Managers need consistent guidance, and communications need to be specific: which indicators the organisation is using, what to do if someone feels unwell, how work arrangements change and when.
A practical haze resilience framework
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Monitor the right indicators. The 24-hour PSI forecast for next-day planning; the one-hour PM2.5 reading for same-day outdoor decisions. Visibility and smell are not a substitute for either.
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Set graded triggers. Define what happens at moderate, unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous — for outdoor work, vulnerable employees, travel, events, customer appointments, site access and communications.
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Prepare people and premises. Indoor air quality, air-cleaning equipment, respiratory protection, mask fit testing, hydration, medication access, and at least a week's supply of N95 masks for employees who need them.
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Protect critical operations. Know your priority services, minimum staffing, alternative locations, substitute suppliers and what can be rescheduled without wider disruption.
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Document as you go. Air-quality data, instructions issued, employee exposure, mitigation steps, delays, extra costs, customer impact. This is what supports governance, contractual discussions and any insurance notification later.
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Test it. A short tabletop exercise with Risk, Finance, Operations, Projects, HR, Facilities, Legal and Communications will expose unclear ownership before a real escalation does.
Insurance supports the plan — it doesn't replace it
Haze losses rarely sit inside one class of cover. What responds depends on the cause, the policy definitions, exclusions, deductibles, waiting periods, and whether physical damage has to precede a business interruption claim. Property and business interruption, project and construction, liability, marine and cargo, travel, event cancellation, and employee benefits arrangements all deserve a look against realistic scenarios — premises closure, damage to sensitive equipment, event cancellation, transit disruption, employee illness, project delay.
Where cover exists, timely notification and careful documentation matter. Where it doesn't, that gap should feed straight into contingency funding, contractual risk allocation and how next year's programme gets designed.
“Haze is often treated as a short-term environmental issue, but for businesses it exposes a wider question: whether decisions on people, operations, contracts and insurance are joined up before disruption occurs. Organisations that act early will be better placed to protect their workforce, maintain critical services and manage the financial consequences with greater confidence.”
Collin Yap, CEO, Asia Pacific, Specialist Risk Group
Preparedness is the differentiator
The air quality outlook can change within a day. The management response shouldn't need to. Businesses that treat haze as a foreseeable, cross-functional risk protect their people, keep critical operations running and make sharper financial calls under pressure. Now is the moment to validate trigger points, test continuity arrangements, check contract wording and review insurance cover — before conditions turn again.
Where does your organisation's plan hold up, and where would the next bad reading find a gap?
Sources
- National Environment Agency, “Haze Situation Update (24 September 2026).”
- National Environment Agency, “Haze Situation Update (15 September 2026).”
- Channel NewsAsia, “Air quality remains unhealthy in three regions of Singapore,” 15 September 2026.
- Channel NewsAsia, “Highlights: Haze pushes air quality across Singapore into unhealthy range for first time in 7 years,” 15 September 2026.
- Ministry of Manpower, “Haze guidelines and advisory for work.”
- Ministry of Manpower, “Guidelines for employers on protecting employees from the effect of haze.”
- Singapore Institute of International Affairs, “SIIA Haze Outlook 2026 Warns of High Risk of Severe Transboundary Haze Event,” media release, 24 June 2026.
- National Environment Agency and Haze.gov.sg, PSI, PM2.5 and haze health advisory guidance.
- Ministry of Health, haze health advisory.
- Ministry of Trade and Industry, crisis preparedness guidance for businesses.
