A little something to celebrate World Statistics Day in this record haze...
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Apparently, today is World Statistics Day. So here are some world statistics to go with a desperate appeal from a man in Kuala Lumpur, suffering as we all are under Indonesia's haze.
The air quality index (AQI) is a measure of particulate concentration in the air. Most often, this refers to PM10 (particulates less than 10 microns in diameter) or PM2.5 (less than 2.5 microns). The latter category is particularly dangerous because sub-2.5 micron particulates are carcinogenic.
In Southampton, the 24-hour average AQI (PM10) reading, in micrograms-per-cubic metre, varies between 50 on a good day and 80 on a bad day; today, it is a fairly easygoing 56. In Central London, the 24-hour average is 60 to 100; today, it is a bearable 75 in Charing Cross and just a fresh 19 in Hillingdon. Consistent readings above 150 are considered unhealthy for high-risk groups and above 250 are a severe risk to public health.
Now you might want to sit down for this...
Five days before I arrived in Singapore, the 24-hour AQI (PM10) peaked at 320. Yesterday night, after a few quiet weeks of swaying either side of 120, it reached its highest instantaneous reading of the year, 442 in the city centre, while I was on my way back from Ola's party. Today, we have blown that out of the murky water with a lung-busting reading of 471. The 24-hour reading is 160. In Kuala Lumpur, it is 180. On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where the fires have been burning at their worst for months, today's 24-hour average is 581. These staggering numbers are scarcely believable in the context of the UK's figures.
It's imperative that the Indonesian government take its hands out of the till as a matter of urgency, not merely for its own people but for those of us coughing and spluttering through our days in Singapore and Malaysia, too.
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By
The Imperial Orange,
20th October 2015
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