Haze Advisory & Response Protocol

Reference: National Environment Agency (NEA) haze health advisories and Sport Singapore (SportSG) Haze Management Plan

Applies to: All SDSC-organised training sessions, competitions and outreach activities

1. Purpose

This advisory sets out how SDSC monitors haze conditions and adjusts or suspends outdoor and non-air-conditioned programme activities, in line with NEA’s air quality guidance and SportSG’s facility-level haze management measures. It also sets out additional precautions specific to para athletes and participants with disabilities, for whom the health impact of haze exposure may be more significant or harder to detect.

2. Monitoring Sources

Programme staff should check conditions before and during any session using:

• NEA 24-hour PSI forecast — for planning the next day’s or same-day’s activities
• 1-hour PM2.5 reading — for immediate, same-session decisions (e.g. whether to continue a session already underway)
• SportSG / venue advisories — where SDSC uses SportSG or partner facilities, the venue’s own haze notices take precedence for facility access decisions

3. Action Matrix — 24-hour PSI (Planning Ahead)

24-hr PSI		0–50 Good	51-100 Moderate	101–200 Unhealthy	201–300 Very unhealthy	>300 Hazardous
Indoor	Air-con	Normal activities	Normal activities	Reduce strenuous activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities
	Non air-con	Normal activities	Normal activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities
Outdoor		Normal activities	Normal activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities

4. Action Matrix — 1-hour PM2.5 (Immediate / Same-Session Decisions)

1-hr PM2.5		0–55 Normal	56–150 Elevated	151–250 High	≥251 Very High
Indoor	Air-con	Normal activities	Reduce strenuous activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities
	Non air-con	Normal activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities
Outdoor		Normal activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities	Suspend all activities

A session already underway should be paused and reassessed if the 1-hour PM2.5 reading crosses into High or Very High while participants are outdoors.

5. Additional Considerations for Para Athletes and Participants with Disabilities

NEA’s general guidance identifies the elderly, pregnant women, children, and persons with chronic heart or lung disease as vulnerable groups. Within SDSC’s participant population, coaches and programme staff should apply extra caution where:

• A participant has a known respiratory or cardiac condition, which is more prevalent among some disability groups.
• A participant uses a wheelchair or other mobility aid, which may increase time spent outdoors during transfers, transport loading/unloading, or venue access compared to ambulant participants — extending exposure duration even when the activity itself is brief.
• A participant has a visual impairment or is hard of hearing and relies on a guide or interpreter; advisory updates and any decision to pause/stop a session must be communicated directly and promptly to both the participant and their guide/interpreter, not assumed to be understood from ambient cues (e.g. others leaving the field).
• A participant has limited independent mobility and cannot quickly relocate indoors; sessions in outdoor or non-air-conditioned venues should have a pre-identified, accessible indoor space or transport plan ready before the session starts, not arranged reactively once conditions deteriorate.
• A participant may have difficulty self-reporting symptoms (e.g. eye/throat irritation, breathlessness); coaches should proactively check in rather than rely on participants to flag discomfort.

Where any of the above applies, staff should default to the more conservative action in Sections 3 and 4, even if the general population threshold has not yet been reached.

6. Roles & Responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
Programme Manager	Checks NEA/SportSG advisories the evening before and morning of any outdoor session; makes the go/no-go call; informs coaches and venue partners.
Coach / Session-in-Charge	Monitors 1-hour PM2.5 during the session; checks in on vulnerable participants; initiates pause/stop/relocate decisions on the ground.
Venue Partner (eg: SportSG facilities)	Provides facility-level closure notices, which SDSC will follow where they are stricter than SDSC’s own thresholds.
Communications	Disseminates advisory updates to participants, caregivers, and volunteers through accessible channels.

7. Communication Protocol

• Advisory updates should be sent via the programme’s usual channel (e.g. WhatsApp broadcast, email) at least 2 hours before a scheduled outdoor session where the PSI forecast suggests a change in status.
• Messages should be short, plain-language, and specify the action (e.g. “Today’s outdoor sailing session is suspended due to haze (PSI 210). Please stay home; we will update you on tomorrow’s session by 6pm.”).
• For participants who have visual impairment or are hard of hearing, ensure messages are compatible with screen readers, or paired with a phone call/SMS as a backup channel.
• Where a session is paused mid-way, staff should verbally confirm the change with each participant (or their guide/caregiver) individually, not rely on a group announcement alone.