Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA)

Explain Like I’m Five

Smoke can cross a border even when the fire stays on the other side. This law connects conduct overseas with haze pollution in Singapore, allowing responsibility for that pollution to be addressed under Singapore law. NEA investigates possible offences and uses powers provided by the Act.

How It Works

NEA gathers information about fires and their possible links to haze here. It can require relevant documents and information, and issue preventive notices requiring action to prevent, reduce or control haze. Whether a company is legally responsible is a separate question governed by the Act’s requirements and evidence.

Where You’ll Run Into It

In reports about companies receiving haze-related notices or investigations. The PSI and PM2.5 readings describe air pollution; THPA names the legal framework, not another air-quality measurement.

Example

“A company has received a notice under the haze law. Has it already been found responsible?”

Not from that fact alone. A notice may require information for an investigation or measures to tackle fires; it is not itself a finding of liability for causing haze.

The Part People Get Wrong

The law is not limited to fires physically inside Singapore. Its cross-border reach concerns conduct causing or contributing to haze in Singapore. That reach does not make every overseas fire, or every company receiving a notice, automatically a proven offence.