Haze in 2026 estimated to cost Singapore S$2.32b, up 4% from 2015: experts

This year’s haze episode – the worst in more than a decade – has cost Singapore’s economy $2.32 billion as at Oct 31, about 4% higher than in 2015. The figure comes from a preliminary estimate by NTU’s Euston Quah and SUSS Eugene Or. “The sheer scale of this damage strengthens the case for funding prevention alongside tougher penalties,” they argued. The 2026 estimate builds on a published, peer-reviewed cost framework created by Quah, NTU’s Chia Wai Mun and SUSS’ Tan Tsiat Siong in 2015. Quah and Or arrived at the larger bill for 2026 despite fewer hazy days and a lower average Pollutant Standards Index reading. The professors attributed this to a larger population, higher incomes and visitor spending, and updated health data and assumptions.

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- Reproduced in The Straits Times online, AsiaOne, and Yahoo!, all 8 Nov