Environment News
Discover the latest Environment News in Thailand, providing comprehensive coverage on environmental issues, climate change solutions, and natural disasters in Thailand and the world. We bring compelling stories, investigate eco-friendly initiatives, and bring you closer to the rapidly evolving green landscape. Stay informed about Thailand’s efforts towards sustainable living, biodiversity conversation, and renewable energy promotion to better understand the world’s ecological challenges.
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Sponsored What is the 5 year visa for the digital nomad in Thailand?
The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) is a great option for digital nomads, remote workers, and freelancers who want to stay in Thailand for a long time. This multiple-entry visa is valid for five years, allowing stays of up to 180...
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Desperate elephants flee massive forest fires in eastern Thailand
Desperate wild elephants are fleeing massive forest fires in Thailand’s eastern Trat province. The fires have destroyed more than 2,500 rai of forests since February 26, and the poor creatures are trying to escape. A herd of 13 elephants in the Klong Kaew Waterfall National Park have started moving out, Naewna reported yesterday. Rangers flew a drone which spotted the…
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Officials say 90% of northern Thailand’s hotspots caused by human activity
The director-general of Thailand’s Pollution Control Department says around 90% of the hotspots in northern Thailand are caused by human activities. Director-General Pinsak Suraswadi said the PM2.5 atmospheric pollution in the region is expected to increase before it improves. Pinsak said that 90% of the hotspots were detected in conserved forests and that the problem would be worse between Saturday, March…
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Tourism in Chiang Mai may be damaged by air pollution
The Northern region of Thailand, especially Chiang Mai, is experiencing a hazardous level of ultra-fine PM2.5 dust particles in the air. This is causing concerns among tourism operators in the city that the situation will negatively impact the industry. Pallop Saejiew, the president of Chiang Mai’s Tourism Industrial Council, worries about the long-term effects on the province’s tourism industry. Demand…
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Northern Thailand sees thousands of fire hotspots
Northern Thailand is seeing thousands of fire hotspots, with some 2,201 detected yesterday. The majority of these hotspots are located in conservation forests, according to the Region 3 centre for prevention and mitigation of air pollution. The upper part of the region had 1,388 hotspots, while the lower north had 813. Provinces with the highest number of hotspots included Tak,…
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Phuket residents call on authorities to investigate black water at beach
Phuket residents are calling on authorities to investigate after foul-smelling black water was found flowing into the sea at a beach. On Sunday, residents and tourists were shocked to find lots of black water pouring into the sea at Karon Beach near Nong Harn Lake. Swimmers rushed out of the sea after seeing the black water. According to The Phuket…
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Thai national park wins prestigious environmental award
Thailand struggles to maintain its environment due to pollution, but some national parks are fighting to protect the country’s natural beauty. A national park in Thailand‘s Prachuap Khirik Khan province won a prestigious environmental award. The country’s Department of Environmental Quality Promotion and the Department of National Parks awarded Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park with the Green National Park…
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Officials find illegal houses encroaching on Phuket mangrove area
Officials found illegal houses encroaching on a protected mangrove area in Phuket. The team of officers from the Mangrove Resource Conservation Division of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) found the six illegal houses on Wednesday. The team found the illegal houses on Soi Rong Foam in Moo 1 in Ratsada. The houses had been built in an…
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Forest encroachment at Thap Lan puts tigers at risk
Forest encroachment at Thap Lan National Park in Prachin Buri – the heartland of Thailand’s tiger population – has become so severe that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa is considering the possibility of new borders being drawn up. Varawut said… “I’m confident the government won’t be disadvantaged by using forest borderlines to solve this problem inside the park.…
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Phuket officials say dry season won’t see water shortage this year
Phuket officials are confident that the dry season won’t see a water shortage this year. The predictions came after the Phuket Water Resources Sub-Committee met yesterday over the impact of water shortages in previous years. According to The Phuket News, Vice Governor Amnuay says that since Phuket had a lot of rain during last year’s wet season, the water reservoirs…
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Thailand to ban all plastic waste imports in 2025
Thailand has taken a significant step toward reducing its plastic waste by announcing a complete ban on plastic waste imports from January 1, 2025. The decision, made by the Thai Cabinet today, is part of the country’s ongoing efforts to tackle the escalating problem of plastic waste, which is contributing to environmental degradation and posing a threat to human health.…
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Pattaya’s air suffers unhealthy PM2.5 dust levels
Pattaya’s air is suffering from unhealthy PM2.5 dust levels. The health-hazardous dust level has risen to 174 microgrammes per cubic meter, far above the safety threshold of 50 microgrammes per cubic meter, The Pattaya News reported yesterday. AQI readings above 100 are considered “unhealthy” (red), above 200 are considered “very unhealthy” (purple) and beyond 300 are considered “hazardous.” The dust…
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Graphic shows Thailand in top 10 countries with most ocean plastic waste
A new graphic shows that Asian countries, including Thailand, are among the top ocean plastic polluters due to mismanaged waste. The graphic by Louis Lugas Wicaksono is based on data from a 2021 research paper by Dutch academic Lourens JJ Meijer. The graphic shows a pie chart made up of plastic waste, labelling each country’s amount of ocean plastic waste…
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Parks and sanctuaries closed by fire in N.Thailand
Thailand’s air pollution centre has asked the Department of National Parks to close eight parks and wildlife sanctuaries in northern provinces to control forest fires. Department head Pinsak Suraswadi said that the closures will allow firefighters greater flexibility to deal with problems in the parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Average PM2.5 levels in the past 24 hours increased 67%, while hotspots…
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Undersea kingdom: Bangkok to sink beneath the waves
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that Bangkok will go underwater as low-lying communities and entire countries disappear under rising seas. According to Al Jazeera, Guterres warned of the threat posed by rising sea levels to hundreds of millions of people living in low-lying coastal areas and small island states as new data reveals seas have risen rapidly since…
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Thailand’s plastic bag use plunges by 148,000 tonnes in 3 years
Thailand‘s use of plastic bags plunged by over 148,000 tonnes in about three years. The Pollution Control Department (PCD) launched campaigns in 2018 to cut the use of single-use plastic and plastic shopping bags, in cooperation with the Environmental Quality Promotion Department (EQPD). The campaign aimed to reduce the use of plastic bags by 43% by 2021. According to an…
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Australia and New Zealand best places to survive nuclear apocalypse
As Valentine’s Day casts its mushroom-cloud shadow over ambivalent or forgetful lovers everywhere, it’s heartening to know where the best places to survive a nuclear apocalypse really are. A recent study by the University of Otago, Wellington, reaches the same conclusion as every other such survey in living memory. ‘Continuing’ civilisation It’s probably best not to survive, but if you…
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Great Wall Motor targets 50% growth in Thailand this year
China‘s Great Wall will target 50% growth in Thailand this year. Great Wall Motor’s Ora Good Cat is already the top-selling electric vehicle in the kingdom. Great Wall Motor aims to increase sales in Thailand by 50% this year, the privately owned automaker said on Friday, while also planning to launch production of electric vehicles in Thailand in 2024. GWM…
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Do fewer shark bites mean fewer sharks?
Shark attacks worldwide fell in 2022, resulting in fewer shark bite incidents compared to the past decade. In 2020, travel restrictions and beach closures were thought to have resulted in fewer encounters between humans and sharks and fewer shark bites. The majority of the 57 unprovoked bites last year occurred in the USA and Australia. Five proved fatal, down from…
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Chiang Mai tackles PM2.5 pollution with giant vacuum cleaner
Thailand‘s Disaster Department is testing out a giant vacuum cleaner as a way to tackle the PM2.5 dust pollution problem that plagues the northern city of Chiang Mai every ‘burning season.’ Every year, farmers around Thailand send their forests and fields up in smoke because it’s the cheapest way to prepare to plant new crops causing PM2.5 levels to shoot…
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Tarmacked forest in Thai conservation area sparks outrage
Netizens are scratching their heads at the Department of National Park‘s decision to tarmac a forest inside a conservation area at a wildlife sanctuary in Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand. No space at all was left around the tree trunks to allow the trees to breathe and grow. An outraged Facebook user posted a picture of the newly tarmacked…
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Death toll rising on 7.8 earthquake in Turkey
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey in the early hours of this morning has caused catastrophic destruction across both countries, leaving hundreds dead and many more injured. Some 650 people have been reported dead but the death toll is rising, with experts warning that aftershocks could continue for days or weeks. Tremors were also felt in Cyprus, Egypt,…
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Earthquake rocks Turkey – buildings tumble and fear takes over (videos)
A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey early this morning, sending shockwaves throughout the region and causing several buildings to crumble. The US Geological Survey reported that the earthquake was centred about 33 kilometres from Gaziantep, a major city, and had a depth of 18 kilometres. The disaster was felt in neighbouring provinces, as well as in Lebanon and…
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Russian tourists lend a hand by cleaning Koh Samui beach
A group of Russian tourists demonstrated their environmental responsibility this week by lending a hand to clean up a beach on Koh Samui. On the morning of January 31, a group of Russian tourists helped to collect garbage from Baan Mae Nam Beach before enjoying their day swimming, sunbathing, and exercising. The Phuket Express reported the cleanup yesterday. The tourists found a…
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Thai officials provide safety guidelines for students, school staff amidst pollution
As Thailand continues to grapple with the ongoing air pollution crisis, officials provided guidelines for students and school staff. Yesterday, the Ministry of Education provided school safety guidelines for students and staff to protect themselves from PM2.5. The guidelines include: avoiding outdoor activities for extended periods, wearing face masks when outdoors, wearing long-sleeved shirts, taking showers or washing skin after…
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Haze Pollution Forces School Closures in Bangkok
Haze pollution is devastating Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok, and forced several schools to close yesterday. Schools such as Chulalongkorn University Demonstration Secondary School and Jindabamrung School temporarily closed their doors due to the respiratory impact on students and announced reopening on Monday. The Education Ministry has established coordination centres to monitor the PM2.5 situation and schools can exercise discretion…
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Thailand to adjust air pollution safety level from June 1
Thailand is set to adjust its standard safety level of air pollution from June 1, 2023. The adjustment will see the safety level change from 50 microns to 37.5 microns as part of a move to help the Pollution Control Department manage air pollution more efficiently. Pollution Control Department Director-General, Pinsak Suraswadi, says currently the PCD has implemented its Level…
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Uncontrollable landfill site fire in Samut Prakan worsens air quality
Bangkok, Thailand, has seen the worst air pollution levels of the year so far today. An uncontrollable fire raging for two days straight at a rubbish dump in Samut Prakan province, just south of the capital, has pumped more PM2.5 dust into the air. A fire has plagued a landfill site in the Phraeksa district since Tuesday night in an…
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More trees in Bangkok could cut heatwave mortality by a third
Planting more trees in Bangkok to lower summertime temperatures could decrease deaths directly linked to hot weather and heatwaves by a third. Increasing tree cover to 30% would shave off 0.4 degrees Celsius locally, on average, during hot summer months. Thai PBS World tells us that of the 6,700 premature deaths attributed to higher temperatures in 93 European cities during…
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Truck smoke targeted over PM2.5 pollution
The Pollution Control Department (PCD) announced that they are ramping up efforts to control fine dust pollution in Bangkok and surrounding areas by increasing their scrutiny of public transport vehicles and trucks emitting smoke. The PCD Director-General Athapol Charoenshunsa stated that worsening PM2.5 pollution levels in the capital and its surroundings are partly caused by public transport vehicles that run…
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Foreign tourist under investigation for free climbing in southern Thailand
A foreign tourist is under investigation for free climbing up a limestone cliff on an island off the coast of Krabi province in southern Thailand within national park boundaries. The Chief of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Teekhawut Sriburin, is investigating a foreign tourist and a Thai boat operator after photos of a foreigner climbing up a limestone…
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