Haze in Singapore for foreigners: if you get sick, and who gets help

Haze comes and goes with the dry season, so most newcomers meet it as an episode: a few weeks when the air turns bad, the news fills with readings, and then it is over. This page is built for the time between episodes. It explains how the haze works, records what happened in 2026 as a record, not as live conditions, and answers the question our readers ask most: if you are a foreigner and you get sick, does any help apply to you?

Before you read. This is personal experience and opinion, not medical advice. This page prints no live readings on purpose, because they go stale within hours. For today’s numbers, use haze.gov.sg or the myENV app. If you are seriously unwell, call 995.

How haze reaches Singapore

The haze is smoke from fires in neighbouring parts of Indonesia, carried here by the wind. It is tied to the dry season, and it is not an every-year event: the 2026 episode was the first time since October 2023 that the air entered the Unhealthy range because of haze. NEA’s daily updates track where the smoke plumes are, and the readings that matter to you are the 24-hour PSI and the 1-hour PM2.5.

You do not need to follow the details. What is useful to know is that conditions can change quickly in either direction. In 2026 the air went from Moderate to Unhealthy and back to Moderate within about two months, and NEA’s final update credited favourable winds and showers for keeping it suppressed.

What happened in 2026

This is a record of the episode as NEA reported it, not a guide to conditions today.

Date	NEA reported
4 Sep	24-hour PSI entered the Unhealthy range in the central region, the first time since 8 Oct 2023
29 Sep	24-hour PSI 107–157 (Unhealthy) as at 6pm
9 Oct	24-hour PSI 135–192 (Unhealthy) as at 6pm
10 Oct	24-hour PSI 118–168 (Unhealthy) as at 7pm
7 Nov	24-hour PSI 51–55 (Moderate) as at 6pm, PM2.5 9–19 µg/m3

The highest figure I found in NEA’s daily updates is 192, the top of the island-wide range on the evening of 9 October. You may see other single-region figures quoted for that week; I have kept to the ranges NEA publishes on its own pages.

On 7 November NEA issued its final haze update of the season. It forecast a PSI of 40–60 (Good to Moderate) for the next day, said the smoke plumes were confined to southern Kalimantan, and said the haze was likely to remain suppressed. NEA’s 5 November advisory said the risk of transboundary haze was expected to be low, and MOH’s release the same day said NEA had advised the likelihood stayed low for the rest of the year.

Most of the government’s haze measures ended with it:

Free N95 masks. Distribution through People’s Association venues, vending machines at selected transport hubs and Social Service Offices ended at 6pm on 7 November 2026.
Haze shelters. The air-conditioned rooms at community clubs and selected residents’ centres closed at 6pm on 7 November.
Workplaces. The extra haze precautions for outdoor workers were stood down from 7 November, and the inter-agency task force was stood down.
Medical subsidy. MOH deactivated the Haze Subsidy Scheme and the related clinic scheme from 12 November 2026. The next section covers that one in detail.

The Haze Subsidy Scheme: who it covered, and who it didn’t

For the first time since 2015, MOH switched on a haze subsidy from 12 October 2026. It capped the cost of a visit for haze-related conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis and upper respiratory tract infections.

Who was covered. Singapore Citizens only. At polyclinics, MOH said all Singapore Citizens were eligible. At the participating GP clinics (the Public Health Preparedness Clinics), eligibility was limited to citizens who were children aged 18 and under, elderly aged 65 and over, or supported by Public Assistance, the Pioneer or Merdeka Generation schemes, CHAS Blue or Orange, or the Medical Fee Exemption Card.

What it cost them. The patient paid no more than S$10. Pioneer and Merdeka Generation seniors paid no more than S$5, and Public Assistance cardholders paid nothing.

How much it was used. MOH’s preliminary figures to 31 October were more than 1,300 participating clinics, more than 100,000 subsidised visits at those clinics and about 60,000 at polyclinics. It called the numbers preliminary because claims were still coming in.

The line that matters for you. Neither MOH release I read, the 11 October start notice or the 5 November closing notice, mentioned permanent residents, foreigners or non-residents. Only Singapore Citizens were listed. So for the whole 2026 episode, foreigners and PRs were not covered: they paid their usual fees, with no haze cap. If you went to a clinic with a “haze subsidy” sign in October and were charged the normal rate, that was the scheme working as announced, not a mistake.

This is the same pattern as in healthcare for foreigners: in Singapore, subsidies follow residency status, not need.

HealthHub’s page on the scheme describes it as on call and said, when I last read it, that it was not being offered until further notice. Its eligibility list is a little broader than MOH’s releases, so if the scheme returns, read the new MOH announcement for the current rules before assuming either way.

If haze comes back: the official advice

This is MOH’s general advice, from its haze page last updated on 21 October 2026. The full guidance, including a table by PSI band, is on that page.

Healthy adults can generally carry on with outdoor activities at reduced intensity or duration, and should drink plenty of water.
Elderly people, pregnant women and children should minimise prolonged or strenuous outdoor exertion when the next-day PSI forecast is 101 to 200. People with chronic lung or heart disease should avoid it. Anyone with a chronic condition should keep their medication on hand.
N95 masks are not needed for commuting or indoors. MOH advises one if the 1-hour PM2.5 is above 250 µg/m3 and you must be outdoors for several hours. Pregnant women in the second and third trimesters should not wear one for long periods, and elderly people, pregnant women and people with severe lung or heart problems should ask a doctor before using one.
If you feel unwell, MOH says to seek medical advice, especially if you are elderly, a child, or have a chronic heart or lung condition. Difficulty breathing, chest pain or a bad asthma attack is an emergency: call 995.

MOH’s advice is simply to seek medical advice if you are unwell, not to wait for a particular reading. If your eyes, throat or chest are bothering you, going early is cheaper than going late.

Where to go, and what it costs you

For an ordinary haze cough, a neighbourhood GP is usually the more practical choice for a foreigner than a polyclinic, because polyclinics charge non-residents the unsubsidised rate. The fee tables and the comparison with GPs and A&E are in polyclinic fees for foreigners and healthcare for foreigners; this page does not repeat them because they change.

At work

MOM keeps standing haze guidance for employers and workers, last updated on 21 October 2026. It tells employers to refer to NEA’s PSI forecast and 1-hour PM2.5 readings. It is written for workers generally and does not single out work pass holders. If you are worried about a risk at your workplace, raise it with your supervisor or HR first, and use MOM’s page for the current rules.

What I would do

Keep a reliever inhaler or regular medication in date before the dry season, not during it. Know where your nearest GP is. Bookmark haze.gov.sg. When the air turns, check it each morning, move exercise indoors when it is Unhealthy, and see a GP early if a cough or eye irritation does not clear. If you are on a Work Permit or S Pass, ask your employer what medical cover you have; if you are on an Employment Pass, check whether your policy covers GP visits.