Air Pollution

Costs rise for northerners as they struggle with smoke haze – Nida Poll

Published

2 weeks ago

April 8, 2019

Costs rise for northerners as they struggle with smoke haze – Nida Poll | The Thaiger

People in the North are being hit by additional costs as they struggle with the ongoing haze crisis even as more forest fires erupted in some areas of the north yesterday.

A Nida Poll survey of 1,253 respondents shows that nearly 57% of respondents are having to bear additional costs to protect themselves from the pollution. It was not revealed how much more they had to spend.

The survey was held on April 4 to 5. About 43% say they did not have to spend anything extra to take care of themselves. The poll also found that 36% of the respondents say they were seriously affected by the problem, while only 9% per cent said they were unaffected.

(Figures rounded up to nearest percent)

About 60% say they were allergic to the haze, with some suffering from colds and runny nose, while 49% say they faced respiratory difficulties. About 48% said they had sore eyes.

Nearly 84% say they had used facemasks to protect themselves and 29% say they preferred to stay at home.

Meanwhile, the Pollution Control Department yesterday tried to downplay the situation while forest fires kept erupting in several areas.

PCD director-general Pralong Damrongthai said that as of 9am yesterday, the concentration of fine dust particles (PM2.5 microns) had reduced in several areas compared to the previous day. The overall air quality had improved to moderately fine to health-affecting.

Three areas in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai were severely affected by the haze during the past weeks and were identified as the most dangerous for health. The concentration of PM 2.5 microns in 24 hours were measured at 47 to 123 micrograms per cubic metre, still exceeding the safety limit of 50mcg.

From Chiang Rai to Mae Hong Son, new forest fires still erupted along the mountain ridges bordering Thailand and Myanmar and parts of Laos.

This morning’s readings from AirVisual.com. Chiang Rai registered a reading of 181 this morning. Chiang Mai comes in at #3 in the world rankings of the world’s most air polluted cities today.

Costs rise for northerners as they struggle with smoke haze - Nida Poll | News by The Thaiger

Air Pollution

Developer pulls the plug on 500 million baht retirement project in Chiang Mai

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

Developer pulls the plug on 500 million baht retirement project in Chiang Mai | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Sunshine International Retirement Residence & Serviced Apartment, Hua Hin

Sunshine International, Thailand’s leading brand of retirement residences says that their project which was due to be constructed near Chiang Mai’s city centre has now been cancelled.

Sunshine International, a retirement property that included around the clock medical facilities, on site doctors and nurses, and state of the art facilities, was due to be built on a five rai site in central Chiang Mai.

But ThaiVisa reports that the company says, due to the problems the city is experiencing with poor air quality, smog and pollution, it has been forced to cancel the Sunshine International Retirement Residences project.

Andrew Stocks of Sunshine International said they had an increase in people contacting them saying they have been forced to leave Chiang Mai because of the smog.

He said that due to the negative impact the project is currently not viable.

Andrew said his company will now focus on its other retirement projects located in Hua Hin, as well as a soon to be announced project in Phuket. He said Sunshine International would consider returning to Chiang Mai again if the smog situation improved.

Andrew called on the authorities to step in to help protect the livelihoods of local people who rely on income generated by the tourism industry in the region.

SOURCE: ThaiVisa.com

Air Pollution

New fires in the North likely to be arson – Army

Published

5 days ago

April 15, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

New fires in the North likely to be arson – Army | The Thaiger

by Nathawat Laping

Some 1,000 combined professional and volunteer firefighters are battling a major forest fire in the mountainous area overlapping Chiang Mai’s Muang and Mae Chan districts.

The fire started on Sunday night in the Doi Jorakhe area of Tambon Tha Sud in Muang before spreading to Tambon Pa Teung in Mae Chan, a densely populated area and home to Mae Chan Hospital and temples.

As of this morning the fire had already devastated 1,000 rai of forestland and nearby plantations.

Mae Chan disrict chief Wandee Ratchomphu led the efforts by 800 state officials and volunteers to put out the fire and prevent it from reaching communities or more forestland in Mae Fah Luang district. A special coordination centre was set up at Wat Pateung to dispatch firefighters to the affected areas by first light, attempts to put out the flames in the heavily wooded mountainous area during the night considered dangerous.

Third Army Region deputy commander Major Buncha Duriyapan was also on the scene to help supervise soldiers joining the fire-fighting efforts. The Army brought in a helicopter to provide support to the Protected Area Regional Office 15’s chopper being used to carry water from the three-metre-deep Tham Sua reservior to douse the flames in hard-to-reach spots.

Buncha also ordered related agencies, especially the police and army, to investigate and identify the person(s) who started this massive fire, saying this was “a strange and unprecedented situation when wildfires erupted all over the province’s mountainous areas simultaneously”.

He said he was convinced that this was a case of arson and not a freak natural incident like a lightening strike.

The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency’s fire monitoring system, as of yesterday morning, identified 521 hot spots in the North. Chiang Rai led the pack with 291 hotspots, followed by Nan (57), Lampang (46), Phayao (46), Chiang Mai (44), Tak (15), Mae Hong Son (14), Phrae (6) and Lamphun (2).

New fires in the North likely to be arson - Army | News by The Thaiger

SOURCE: The Nation

Air Pollution

Thailand still in the world’s Top 14 for TB cases

Published

6 days ago

April 14, 2019

The Thaiger

Thailand is struggling with tuberculosis, and remains in the list of the world’s 14 worst hit countries.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but they can also damage other parts of the body. TB spreads through the air when a person with TB of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, or talks.

Presently, one-quarter of the world’s population is thought to be infected with TB, with more than 95% of the cases occurring in developing countries.

Arth Nana, executive committee chairman of the Anti-TB Association, says Thailand needs to do away with TB before 2021. In 2017 the Disease Control Department put in place a five year goal to rid Thailand of the TB plague. The World Health Organsation has set its own goal to reduce the number of TB patients to fewer than 10 in 100,000 by 2035.

“We are one of the 14 worst countries hit by this severely infectious disease which has spread across 200 countries, said Arth.

But with three years to go, so far Thailand has made little inroads into tackling the spread and growth of the TB problem. In Bangkok new cases of the disease are on the rise, much of this due to the influx of migrant workers.

The high number of drug-resistant cases was among the factors that put Thailand in the pool of 14 worst-hit countries for TB ranked by the World Health Organisation.

According to the Bangkok Post, Dr Wongwat Lewlak, deputy chief of City Hall’s Health Department, blames our “hectic and stressful lifestyles in the crowded city” for making people neglect their health.

“The need to earn a living means many patients are too busy to remember those appointments with doctors or they decide to stop taking the drugs as soon as they start to feel better.”

Thailand still in the world's Top 14 for TB cases | News by The Thaiger