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His website displays one-hour and three-hour PSI estimates, calculated from PM2.5 concentrations, alongside <\/span>NEA<\/span>‘s official 24-hour PSI readings.<\/span><\/p>\n It also breaks down air pollution levels across Singapore’s north, south, east, west and central regions.<\/span><\/p>\n However, Zi Heng makes it clear that his one-hour and three-hour PSI figures are his own calculations, not official NEA readings.<\/span><\/p>\n “I have listed quite a lot of warnings near all my readings! The last thing I would want is to mislead anyone,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n The website also draws data directly from NEA’s API.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Zi Heng, the data generally updates within one to two minutes of the start of each hour, while he has observed that NEA’s public haze website sometimes takes around 10 minutes to update.<\/span><\/p>\n Zi Heng also stresses that the measurements should not be taken as medical advice.<\/span><\/p>\n “It shouldn’t be used as a scientific measure or for advice, but it can hopefully help convince vulnerable people to stay home during the haze, just like they would avoid a smoking corner,” he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n “I was really shocked by just how bad the haze is when putting it to a metric that we already know is bad conventionally (cigarettes),” he admitted.<\/span><\/p>\n What started as a personal project has since caught the attention of other Singaporeans after he shared it on Reddit, with the website attracting around 2,000 views daily as of Oct 14.<\/span><\/p>\n For now, he intends to keep the website running indefinitely, even after the haze clears.<\/span><\/p>\n And while the cigarette calculator may sound alarming, Zi Heng says the project is ultimately meant to give Singaporeans a different perspective on air pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s just a little bit of fun, and I just want to provide a different way of viewing the same problem all of us Singaporeans are facing,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n And Zi Heng, who has never smoked, isn’t encouraging anyone to start.<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, he revealed that the cigarette calculator wasn’t originally meant to be the website’s main attraction.<\/span><\/p>\n “This started as a joke between me and my friends, and thus when I started this website, I decided to just leave it in,” he laughed.<\/span><\/p>\n “It essentially came because a friend joked that the haze made smoking technically less harmful as the difference between inhaled smoke and the surrounding air has decreased,” he added.<\/span><\/p>\n Well, that’s one way to look at it. Though, of course, smoking remains harmful no matter how hazy the air gets.<\/span><\/p>\n Who knew a joke among friends could turn into a haze tracker that thousands of Singaporeans would find useful?<\/span><\/p>\n Now, if only the haze itself would disappear as quickly as Zi Heng built his website.<\/span><\/p>\n