Environment News
Thailand environment news, climate change, sustainability, and natural disasters—stay updated on eco-initiatives, biodiversity conservation, and renewable energy efforts. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for environmental news in Thailand.
-
Sponsored Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
-
Smoke from plantation fires continues to choke central and northern Thailand
Smoke from fires, mostly deliberately lit, continue to choke sections of central and northern Thailand today. Light winds are not blowing away the smog and haze produced by the smoke, particularly in the north where Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have readings today from ‘unhealthy’ too ‘very unhealthy’ – in a range from 170 up to 240 (particles of PM2.5…
-
22 areas of Bangkok found with excessive PM2.5 dust in the atmosphere today
Bangkok was blanketed with excessive PM2.5 dust yesterday, measuring between 55 and 90 microns per cubic metre (µg/m3), above Thailands “safe” threshold of 50. Air quality has improved slightly today, with only 22 areas found to have PM2.5 dust above 50 microns. The limit set by the World Health Organisation is 25 µg/m3. The Pollution Control Department (PCD) announced the…
-
Bangkok public schools closed until Friday due to air quality
Public schools in the Bangkok municipality have been ordered shut until Friday due to severe air pollution in the nation’s capital. Air quality in the city worsened today and the situation is likely to continue due to poor air circulation and accumulation of PM2.5 dust in the atmosphere. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang said today that the city…
-
Air purifiers to be added to the top of Bangkok buses. Really…
“It is like a single dead pixel on your phone, hardly noticeable” Air purifiers sitting on tops of buses. Apparently this is another solution for Bangkok’s air pollution problems. Sounds like the people selling the mobile bus-top air purifiers have a very convincing sales person! But Bangkok’s Mass Transit Authority director Surachai Eamvachirasakul says the department will go ahead with plans…
-
Chiang Mai blanketed in smoke as fires burn around the province
It’s smoggy, smokey and generally unpleasant in northern Thailand today. But don’t take our word for it, look up to the skies around Chiang Mai or check the copious amounts of graphic evidence, freely available, about the seriousness of the fires, almost all deliberately lit, around the region. “It’s been bad all morning and there’s a noticeable smell of smoke…
-
Wildfire damages over 2000 rai in national park
A wildfire yesterday morning in the Phu Kradueng National Park in the northeastern province of Loei damaged more than 2000 rai, mostly pineforest and grassland. Adisorn Hemthanont, chief of the park’s wildfire extinguishment unit, made the announcement today. “A dozen staff tried to extinguish the fire but the strong winds blew fireballs across the fire barrier and [they] landed about…
-
Fires continue devouring Thailand’s North
Despite prohibitions on agricultural burning, wildfires continued ravaging forests across Thailand yesterday, especially in the North. Satellite images charting the progress of large fires yesterday morning showed the number of hotspots in the north had risen from 823 on Friday to 1,334. A total of 3,238 forest fires were recorded nationwide. Mae Hong Son province had the highest number of…
-
Pathum Thani villagers coping with heavy smoke from rubbish fires
Villagers in Pathum Thani Province near Bangkok are complaining of rubbish fires, saying locals are breathing heavy black smoke every day, causing health issues, especially for small children. They claim people are secretly burning garbage and grass in the area. Residents of Sataporn Village have formed a group and reported to local media in hopes taking the issue public. Smoke…
-
Court suspends Chao Phraya promenade project
A court has ruled that Bangkok City Hall’s project to build a promenade along both sides of the Chao Phraya River is illegal, and on Wednesday ordered a temporary suspension of works. The Administrative Court ruled that the 14 billion baht project, which comprises two elevated walkways complete with a bicycle lane running for 57 kilometres along both sides of…
-
Drought disasters plague the nation
Between October 17 and yesterday, drought disasters were declared in 116 districts across Thailand, legally obliging the government to provide assistance, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) reports. The disasters were in 20 provinces – Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Phetchabun, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, Kalasin, Maha Sarakham, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Nakhon…
-
New bikes must meet Euro 4 emissions standards
A new government policy, which will take effect on March 29, requires all new motorbikes sold in Thailand to meet Euro 4 emissions standards. Officials of the Thai Industrial Standards Institute met yesterday with representatives of more than 40 motorbike manufacturers, including Honda and Yamaha, informing them of the requirements. The measure is intended to help tackle Thailand’s PM2.5 dust…
-
Thai government scraps Mekong blasting project
The government has officially abandoned a controversial plan to blast rapids on the Mekong river in Chiang Mai province. The Chinese-led dredging and blasting plan, initiated in 2001, met with fierce opposition from locals and environmental groups, and the Cabinet agreed to scrap it at a weekly meeting on Tuesday. The plan was to enable ships to carry goods from…
-
China now battling an outbreak of bird flu in Hunan
On top of the growing Coronavirus outbreak and efforts of authorities to contain the spread, Chinese officials have now reported a case of the potent H5N1 bird flu in Shaoyang city in central China’s Hunan province. The province is south of Hubei but the outbreak of bird flu is unrelated to the Wuhan coronavirus. Avian influenza, aka. H5N1, avian flu…
-
Hazy days and Sundays – Bangkok has fifth highest air pollution in the world
“Unhealthy”. That about sums up the air Bangkokians are breathing this morning, a situation almost completely avoidable but allowed to continue by the Thai Government. Bangkok is in bad company today with other polluted cities in Asia – Lahore, Hanoi, Delhi and Dhaka – as the fifth most polluted city in the world, a headline the Thai Government would prefer…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.