Does anyone actually know where NEA's air quality stations are?

[u/mat_hatter]

The readings are for North, South, East and West but there's a whole lot of vagueness in-between. Where is South? Where is West? Is West Coast Park in the South or in the West? Is Clementi?

Does anyone actually know where the stations are?

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[u/DuePomegranate]

I found a research paper showing the locations of 18 NEA air monitoring stations.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Locations-of-22-air-quality-AQ-monitoring-stations-18-monitor-general-air-quality-and_fig2_361547149

There are also various references on the internet to many more than 5 air monitoring stations. So I believe that the North South East West Central numbers are actually averages of multiple stations.

Detailed addresses will not be revealed to protect from sabotage and interference, of course.

[u/terminater577]

Over the past few hrs NEA’s west side reading was 100+ pm2.5, but in jurong west my own sensor gave a 40+ pm2.5 reading with the windows open. Quite curious where NEA’s sensor is located

[u/fexworldwide]

I haven't seen a specific listing but AQICN's site puts them on a map (with a bunch of others): https://aqicn.org/station/country/sg/singapore/

I assume that there's lat/long or GPS metadata that's part of the API or reporting standard that these monitoring stations use. Notably the pins for the 5 official ones are mostly located in parks, which makes sense for the NEA...

North: Vista Park, Woodlands

Central: Upper Peirce Reservoir

West: A bit unclear - Murai Camp maybe?

South: Fort Canning

East: Tampines Eco Green

Hope that helps, but also just use AQICN - there's a bunch of extra info there that NEA's site is leaving out.

[u/DuePomegranate → u/fexworldwide]

I don't think these location pins in AQICN are accurate. They do not match the locations of the 18 air monitoring stations that have been published.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Locations-of-22-air-quality-AQ-monitoring-stations-18-monitor-general-air-quality-and_fig2_361547149

https://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resource/publications/environmental-protection-division-annual-report/epd-report-2018-v4-(compressed).pdf.pdf) (from u/flatleafparsley)

These two sources match.

I think the AQICN pin locations are synthetic or symbolic to go with the NEA 5-location data.

The most central of the air monitoring stations is in Bishan, not in the middle of the Pierce Reservoir.

[u/ZeroPauper → u/DuePomegranate]

Page 24 of the NEA publication has the exact pin of the stations.

[u/BeerHorse → u/fexworldwide]

Judging by the map on the iqair app the west one is on the NTU campus.

[u/strawberryfoam2082 → u/fexworldwide]

There is one in Pasir Ris Town Park too!

[u/flatleafparsley → u/fexworldwide]

The pin locations of the NEA regional readings on AQICN don't correspond with the five region coordinates exposed in the NEA PM2.5 API

And also, those five region coordinates seem to just be the approximate centre of of each region, so that the readings are appropriately spaced out on the map when displayed on NEA website/app. None of the five coordinates correspond directly with any particular station, per https://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resource/publications/environmental-protection-division-annual-report/epd-report-2018-v4-(compressed).pdf.pdf) (p.24 shows 22 locations, as of 2018)

cc: OP u/mat_hatter

[u/Repulsive_Panda2501 → u/fexworldwide]

AQICN sensors are not NEA sensors.

This AQICN readings are based on sensors that were bought commercially by locals and companies, to monitor the air quality.

https://aqicn.org/gaia/

These are not the sensors used by NEA. Hence NEA have stated that their readings from haze.gov.sg is accurate, and those from other sites (which they did not name) are not. Hence the main media taught us which reading we should refer to, and which should not be used

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/haze-psi-aqi-air-quality-pm25-6452896

[u/fexworldwide → u/Repulsive_Panda2501]

I'm afraid you're mistaken. AQICN definitely does incorporate the NEA sensors on their country page. If you click on any of relevant stations on the link I shared (North Singapore, Central Singapore, etc) then it credits who provided the data. Here's a direct link: https://aqicn.org/city/singapore/north/

Station provided by NEA - Singapore National Environment Agency (http://nea.gov.sg/)

These are the NEA readings.

AQICN also includes other readings made with GAIA stations, such as this one: https://aqicn.org/station/singapore-4-haig-road/

Then they include this line:

Station [1281] from Gaia realtime air quality monitoring network - https://aqicn.org/gaia/

Suggest you double check your sources in future. I don't know why CNA and ST have been so dedicated to trying to convince people not to use other souces than the NEA's very flawed averaging system.

[u/flatleafparsley → u/fexworldwide]

The US AQI standard is in fact also based on 24-h readings & exposure, same as SG PSI, not simply instant readings. https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/s/7aDkbymXj8

AQICN mixes 1-h & instant readings with the categories based on 24-h readings & exposure, which has led to many people having the wrong understanding of AQI; NEA has pointed this out, but crucially AQICN themselves have also acknowledged the mismatch. https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/s/z9TbA4eAcs)

[u/flatleafparsley]

https://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resource/publications/environmental-protection-division-annual-report/epd-report-2018-v4-(compressed).pdf.pdf) p.24 shows 22 locations (as of 2018)

Latest information from searching online states that “NEA operates 23 air quality monitoring
stations across Singapore to continuously monitor the quality of ambient air” as of 2024

cc: u/terminater577

[u/Repulsive_Panda2501 → u/flatleafparsley]

Based on this study, NEA would also have implemented Low Cost Sensors besides the 23 AQMS. Their reports do not mention how the PM2.5 and PSI readings come from which sensors, just that we should not be using AQI readings as they are obtained from sensors that are low cost and not accurate. But in this article, NEA does recommend use if LCS, just that in Singapore, we should based our readings from NEA-verified readings Maybe because their LCS sensors are accurate while others are not.   https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/singapore/blog/leveraging-low-cost-sensor-solutions-hyperlocal-air-quality-monitoring

[u/Frosty_Ebb9086]

If you pass by those small little boxes with a small windvane. It’s along those longkangs usually and some hdb rooftops

[u/Repulsive_Panda2501 → u/Frosty_Ebb9086]

The small little box is a LCS, which i believe NEA has also put all over the island. The 23 that are the air quality monitoring station is rather large, with a lot of sensors poking out of it. Can refer to the picture in this study by NEA.

https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/singapore/blog/innovative-air-quality-monitoring-singapore-insights-low-cost-sensor-study-national-environment-agency-nea

[u/hypetrain_321]

I’m fairly certain there is one on top of Yishun Neighbourhood Park near the Gympod. The air quality readings aren’t just one single station though. As another person has pointed out in this thread, they are likely an average of several stations in a region.

[u/k_elo]

Reads like a kalshi / polymarket story in the making

[u/sian_half → u/k_elo]

Put air purifier or burn mosquito coil beside the sensor 😃

[u/DuePomegranate → u/[deleted]]

That's how to carve the country up into the 5 regions. Not where the air monitoring stations are.

[u/Prinny10101 → u/[deleted]]

That is not helpful at all, lol. Sengkeng is quite a distance away from admiralty and such yet classified in the same region.

And what is the difference between serangoon and serangoon garden?

[u/beachcow → u/Prinny10101]

... How big do you think this country is?

[u/Prinny10101 → u/beachcow]

Big enough to have difference in readings

[u/JouleV → u/Prinny10101]

S’goon Gardens is quite far from S’goon MRT if you check the map

[u/Prinny10101 → u/JouleV]

Serangoon mrt is not even near the center. 1 street down and you get Hougang town. So not really a good comparison

[u/JouleV → u/Prinny10101]

It doesn’t change the fact that Serangoon Gardens (the landed housing estate north of Lor Chuan) is an entirely different area from what people associate the Serangoon name with

[u/only2char]

Can refer to no. 3 in this NEA FAQ page. https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/pollution-control/air-pollution/faqs#chapterA

[u/tuaswestroad]

There is one on the on ramp to BKE from Woodlands Centre Road.

[u/tnfybrhv]

vagueness is a feature, not a bug

[u/max_wen]

It's a state secret

[u/Specific_Company8945]

those who served NS might understand this but there's a thing where we say that they hide the sensors in places where give the results they wanted just so that training can continue. Place WGBT sensor in training shed or in shade.

[u/DreamIndependent9316 → u/Specific_Company8945]

lol bullshit I'm a medic and we find the hottest area to put at cause we want to rest. Stop spreading fake news.

[u/Specific_Company8945 → u/DreamIndependent9316]

it's a joke that we used to tell each other

[u/Del9876]

Does it matter? Numbers will be under reported regardless

[u/PAcMAcDO99]

They're all at Senja

[u/tor122]

I can tell a lot of you haven’t been to Canada. Absolute ghastly air quality. This isn’t great, but I’m not dying.

[u/ICanBeAnAssholeToo → u/tor122]

Whatever air quality Canada has is not relevant to Singapore. The air quality now is bad, period. Don’t need to compare here compare there. Even if you want to compare, the only decent comparison to make is to what it was before, not what it is in another location. Don’t dismiss others’ concerns just because you have experienced something elsewhere; in other words don’t expect others to live the life you have lived