Air PollutionChiang MaiNorthern Thailand

Pollution closes Lampang schools

Photo: Thai Residents

Schools in the northern province of Lampang were closed yesterday as the level of air pollution went up, according to KhaoSod. Authorities have instructed families to keep their children indoors during this period of poor air quality.

The problem is partly caused by the the burning of crop fields, which despite prohibitions, has been going on for weeks, with the levels of PM2.5 particles rising over the standard measure for the past 22 days, as well as the smog generated by the province’s Mae Mo coal-fired power plants.

PM2.5 refers to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) with a diametre of less than 2.5 micrometers, about 3% the diametre of a human hair. Thailand’s current “safety” threshold of 50 micrograms per cubic metre is twice that of the World Health Organisation’s safe upper limit of 25µg/m³.

Temperatures around Chiang Mai and northern Thailand today are 30 degrees. Light winds aren’t blowing the smoke away. Fires can be seen on the AirVisual graphic.

SOURCE: Thai Residents

Pollution closes Lampang schools | News by Thaiger Pollution closes Lampang schools | News by Thaiger

AirVisual

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Jack Burton

Jack Burton is an American writer, broadcaster, linguist and journalist who has lived in Asia since 1987. A native of the state of Georgia, he attended the The University of Georgia's Henry Grady School of Journalism, which hands out journalism's prestigious Peabody Awards. His works have appeared in The China Post, The South China Morning Post, The International Herald Tribune and many magazines throughout Asia and the world. He is fluent in Mandarin and has appeared on television and radio for decades in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

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