Singapore has had a respite from the haze triggered by forest burning in Sumatra, Indonesia, though officials have said that the haze may come back should the wind direction change again.

The three-hour pollutant standards index (PSI) has been gradually coming down since it reached an unprecedented "hazardous " level of 401 on Friday. The air quality improved to the level of "moderate" since Saturday afternoon.

A PSI reading of 50 or below indicates "good" air quality, followed by "moderate" for the 51-100 band. A reading above 100 is considered unhealthy, while a reading above 300 indicates " hazardous" air quality.

The National Environment Agency, which has been providing daily updates on the haze recently, said the improvement in the air quality is due to "a change in the direction of the low level winds over Singapore, from southwesterly to southerly, since last night."

"The prevailing wind conditions are expected to persist for the next few days," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Malaysia, some of the cities have been suffering from severe haze as it was blown over there.

Singapore and Malaysia are proposing to bring forward the sub- regional ministerial steering committee meeting on transboundary haze pollution from the scheduled August dates.

"We are proposing it to be held next week or July 2," Malaysia' s Natural Resource and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said on Monday.

The meeting was scheduled for August 20-21 and gathers the representatives of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand.

Malaysia's health minister S. Subramaniam said Malaysia was expected to convey a strong message to its Indonesian counterpart to find permanent solutions to the annual "man-made" haze.

Singapore's Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan had earlier delivered a letter from Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Farmers and some plantations in Sumatra have the tradition of using fire to clear land for agricultural purposes, though it is now banned in the country. Indonesia also said it will name some of the companies, particularly those in the palm oil industry, involved in starting the fires.

The haze prompted schools in Singapore to cancel outdoor activities. Most of the stores ran out of protective masks over the weekend. Endi

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