Air Pollution

Big farm companies causing the smoke problems in the north

Published

7 months ago

April 2, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

Big farm companies causing the smoke problems in the north | The Thaiger

by Chularat Saengpassa, Sakaorat Sirima

Experts see little changing, even after Prayut’s visit to Chiang Mai today, and blame the government’s policy to push corn cultivation. The PM is in Chiang Mai today speaking to provincial governors.

But eminent medical specialists based in Chiang Mai are warning that the health impacts from prolonged exposure to smog are real and urgent tangible solutions are necessary.

Prof Dr Chaicharn Pothirat, a medical specialist in lung diseases at the CMU Faculty of Medicine, power the question…“Will the PM engage a ‘giant firm’ in addressing the problem?”

According to him, corn plantations are now the major cause of air pollution. Many corn farmers have cleared unwanted weeds from their plantations using fire to ease the work of harvesting by hand or expensive machinery.

“And a big firm buys corn from these farmers. This firm should show responsibility,” Chaicharn said.

The medical lecturer lamented that Prayut’s visit to Chiang Mai would not really help ease the smog.

“He will spend just a few hours here. So, I think it’s more like a PR stunt.”

Chaicharn says the government policy to encourage farmers to grow corn after the rice season might have also contributed to the current serious smog crisis. At present, there are 7 million rai of corn plantations in the country. The North is the biggest grower, accounting for 4.5 million rai of corn fields. Chaicharn’s colleague, Dr Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, who sits on the Chiang Mai working panel on fighting air pollution, said he had put forward four demands to the PM.

“Don’t just say you have not seen any health impacts from the dust yet. Health problems associated with air pollution will become visible in the long run, the same way smokers will feel the adverse impacts from their cigarettes,” Rungsrit said.

Smog is associated with respiratory disorders, heart diseases, skin irritation and more. Chiang Mai has been struggling with heavy air pollution for a few months already.

The amount of PM2.5 – particulate matter no more than 2.5 millimetres in diameter – in the province has been usually above safe limits. Despite loud complaints every day by people who know about the smog’s dangerous impact, an end to the problem is not yet in sight.

At present, agricultural fires are identified as the main cause of smog. Rungsrit said the Chiang Mai governor should have made better preparations because he must have known from the very beginning that hotspots caused air pollution every year.

“Don’t just talk, otherwise the problem will recur.”

Chiang Mai is not the only northern province suffering under the smog crisis. Neighbouring provinces are also facing the same predicament. Calls for the Upper North to be declared a smog disaster zone are growing louder now, and the region’s smog-generating forest fires soared to 3,088 hotspots.

Deputy National Police commissioner Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said police had already arrested 230 suspects for setting fires in forests.Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son yesterday continued their calls for urgent donations of N95-grade face masks for public distribution.

SOURCE: The Nation

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Related Topics:PM2.5 pollution smog smoke

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Air Pollution

Less monitoring, more enforcement – Prawit warns northern officials

Published

5 days ago

October 11, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

Less monitoring, more enforcement – Prawit warns northern officials | The Thaiger

PHOTO: The Thaiger

Thai Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa were in Chiang Mai yesterday to give provincial governors and state agency officials a ‘heads up’ in preparation for another looming season of forest fires and haze.

The North suffers perennial choking smog from approximately February to April, and Prawit passed on a message from PM Prayut Chan-o-cha who, he said, was fretting over the impact on people’s health.

He said the Environment Ministry would take the lead in coordinating with neighbouring countries and related local authorities to monitor the fire problem both in and outside Thailand.

The fires are lit in northern Thailand, and over the border in Myanmar, as burn-offs to prepare for the next year’s crops. Last year’s choking smoke haze was headline news for months.

SOURCE: The Nation

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Air Pollution

Thai PM says Cabinet is adding new pollution controls, while academic finds solutions ineffective

Published

2 weeks ago

October 5, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

Thai PM says Cabinet is adding new pollution controls, while academic finds solutions ineffective | The Thaiger

In his weekly televised show yesterday, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said his government has always been concerned about air pollution, especially PM2.5 or microscopic dust particles, which he put down to smog from other countries, traffic jams, burning of farming waste, factory emission and dust from construction sites.

“PM2.5 is dangerous, especially for children, babies, pregnant women and elders, whose immunity is too fragile to tackle the microscopic dust.”

“People should be particularly careful during December as there are no winds or rain to blow away the dust.”

He also urged people not to panic, saying it is necessary to understand all the issues first. He explained that the Cabinet approved a proposal last week to tackle the pollution crisis at four levels.

“We have explained them to all provinces and have asked for coordinated cooperation”.

The premier had previously warned that the authorities would arrest polluting car owners. Meanwhile, an academic was pessimistic about the effectiveness of the measures implemented by the government.

Sumet Ongkittikul, research director at Thailand Development Research Institute told The Nation… “Removing polluting cars from Bangkok streets will not help much as long as diesel-powered vehicles continue plying the streets of the capital.”

Instead, he said, the government should follow China’s way of tackling air pollution in Beijing, where it promoted the use of electric motorbikes and cut down on the number of cars.

SOURCE: The Nation

PHOTO: Prayut Chan-o-cha speaking in his weekly TV appearance – Royal Thai Government

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Air Pollution

Bangkok’s blue skies return, but light smog lingers

Published

2 weeks ago

October 2, 2019

The Thaiger

PHOTO: Prae Sakaowan

The air pollution situation around Bangkok has vastly improved in the past 24 hours, returning to more reasonable readings around the city. Certainly most of the city is now reading under 100 and in the ‘moderate’ range of the air pollution scale, according to airvisual.com

Bangkok’s Pollution Control Department reported at 9am today that levels of particulate matter 2.5 microns and less in diameter (PM2.5) were measured at 19-52 per cubic metre of air in parts of the inner city. Some of the manufacturing hubs immediately outside Bangkok were getting higher readings.

Whilst the winds remain light (below) around the capital the threat of the poor air quality returning is ever-present. On Monday PM Prayut Chan-o-cha called on the private and public sector to work together to solve Bangkok’s long-term air quality challenges.