Essay: Which has been more severely affected by the haze in Singapore: our well-being or economic activities?

Our well-being has been severely affected by the haze in Singapore. The haze results in numerous health problems. Haze has caused air quality in Singapore to rise above 101 PSI; worse cases might up it up till 201. NEA says that when the air quality is in the unhealthy range, those with underlying conditions such as chronic heart, asthma or lung ailments may experience a mild aggravation of their symptoms. Those without underlying conditions may also experience eye irritation, sneezing or coughing. Thus, this shows how detrimental haze is to our health as it has the ability to affect of body systems, especially respiratory system. Therefore, our well-being has been more severely affected by the haze in Singapore.

Our economic activities have been severely affected by the haze. The haze affects tourism in Singapore. With the PSI rising to unhealthy range, foreigners are afraid of getting infected with respiratory problems such as lung infection and asthma. Moreover if the haze is really bad, flights are also cut off due to reduced visibility as depicted during the Iceland volcanic eruption. As Singapore depends quite a bit on the tourism industry, this means lower revenue for the local economy if there are a decreasing number of tourists. Thus, our economic activities have been severely affected by the haze.

Our economic activities have been severely affected by the haze. The haze affects work in Singapore. As haze is detrimental to our health, the government has to cancel many outdoor activities such as work and school. This results in a heavy loss of man hours which puts economic activities to a standstill which is detrimental to our economy. Thus, our economic activities have been severely affected by the haze.

I believe that our well-being is the more important factor and was the more severely affected. Health of the people ultimately is the most important factor when ruling a country. Without good health, people are not effective at work which affects the economy. Moreover, loss of man hours and drop in the tourism industry are short-term problems that can be solved compared to health problems which had the possibility of resulting in death. Thus, I believe, that our well-being is the more important factor and was the more severely affected.