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.
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Thailand’s forest fires close Mae Hong Son Airport
Thailand’s forest fires were so bad, with many parts of Mae Hong Son‘s Muang district covered in such dense smoke Sunday that several airlines rescheduled morning flights. The local pollution control department in Mae Hong Son reported that PM2.5 – particles of dust less than 2.5 microns in diameter – in the Muang and Pai districts reached 90 micrograms and…
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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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Swedish ‘plogging’ trend reaches Koh Lanta, Thailand
Koh Lanta – an island along Thailand‘s Andaman coast – saw its first ever plogging event last week, according to the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok. There’s nothing worse than a beautiful landscape spoiled by plastic waste and debris. A movement in Sweden has come up with a solution. ‘Plogging’ is an activity that combines jogging with picking up litter.…
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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 parks boss sacked in corruption scandal
The head of Thailand’s national parks was sacked on Friday as an investigation into a cash-for-placement scandal engulfs the environmental body. Thai parks boss Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya has been removed from his post to “pave the way for a transparent investigation” into corruption, at least according to Jatuporn Buruspat the Ministry permanent secretary. Any kind of thorough investigation is…
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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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Bangkok is third most polluted city in the world
Bangkok was ranked the third worst city in the world for air pollution after PM2.5 dust reached unhealthy levels. A heavy blanket of smog encased the capital’s skyscrapers as nationwide agricultural burning and forest fires pumped tiny dust particulates into the air, exacerbated by the city’s chockablock traffic and stone-dry weather. At 10am, Bangkok’s air quality index (AQI) measured 198,…
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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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Bangkok and six northern provinces to see air quality worsen over weekend
Bangkok and six northern provinces in Thailand are expected to see air quality worsen over the weekend, according to Thailand’s Pollution Control Department (PCD). The PCD reported yesterday that air quality across the country ranged from very good down to a health-threatening level at 11 am. The amount of PM2.5 dust particles in the atmosphere also exceeded the standard level…
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Bangkok governor urges the capital to work remotely as pollution deteriorates
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt urged the capital’s workers and car drivers to stay at home and work remotely as the pollution levels continue to deteriorate in the city. The 56 year old city chief advised residents to refrain from going to the office, wear masks outdoors, and if drivers must travel, use public transport. “Residents should work from home if…
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Couple arrested for selling Asiatic golden cat parts
A couple arrested in Bangkok with 19 animal skins has confessed to selling talismans made from Asiatic golden cat parts including skins and oil. Officers from the Natural Resources and Environment Crime Suppression Division arrested Phatcharapha Prasongdee and her husband Sitthichai Boonlai, both 30 years old, at a house in Lat Phrao district on Friday. In the couple’s house were…
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Sick wild elephant treated in central Thailand
A sick wild elephant had to be shot with a tranquilliser dart and sedated before wildlife officials and veterinarians could treat the animal in a forest in Tha Takiap district of Chachoengsao Province on Wednesday. Two elephants were found wandering in Ang Toei forest on Tuesday. One of them was clearly very sick, with a bad wound on the left…
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Why the house lizards came home
House lizards that once lived in forests but now occupy urban areas are very familiar to anyone who lives in Thailand. House lizards are common throughout the tropics, but what makes one species into a house lizard and other… dead? The Puerto Rican crested anole, a brown lizard with a bright orange throat fan, unique to the island, has sprouted…
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Bangkok air pollution to persist
Most of the capital will be coughing and spluttering on Monday and Tuesday under a dense grey blanket of filthy Bangkok air. The air will be filled with dust on Monday and Tuesday due to the lack of breeze and airflow. The city Environment Department said Saturday that the lack of breeze in Bangkok eventually traps the pollution in the city.…
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Sunken HTMS Sukhothai to be raised in one US$3-million piece
Raising the sunken HTMS Sukhothai is going to cost about 100 million baht (US$3 million). HTMS Sukhothai sank in 50 metres of water, 19 nautical miles off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan on the night of December 18 last year. Only 76 of the 105 crew on board at the time survived. Admiral Adung Phan-iam, commander of the Royal…
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ExxonMobil sells interest in Esso Thailand
ExxonMobil is to sell its interest in Esso Thailand to Thai energy firm Bangchak in a deal valued at about 20 billion baht (US$600 million). The deal came on the day Exxon’s astonishingly accurate global-warming predictions came to light, and includes the Sriracha refinery and its network of filling stations. ExxonMobil Asia Holdings previously held 66% of Esso Thailand. The…
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Biodegradable tax incentives to reduce plastic waste
Thailand is taking a big step to tackle plastic waste, and it’s all about incentives. The country’s Ministry of Finance has teamed up with the Ministry of Industry to announce a new program that offers a 25% corporate income tax reduction for businesses that buy biodegradable plastic products between 2022 and 2024. This move is aimed at encouraging companies to…
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Raise the Sukhothai – salvage companies to bid for 100-million-baht contract
Private salvage companies are being asked to bid to raise the Sukhothai, according to Royal Thai Navy (RTN) sources. HTMS Sukhothai, a corvette-class warship sank in the Gulf of Thailand about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan province when it was capsized by 4-metre waves and strong winds. Officers are assessing the damage to the Sukhothai…
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Whale shark visits Thailand’s Koh Chang in rare sighting
A stunning four-metre-long whale shark visited a group of tourists on a snorkelling trip in the waters of Koh Chang in the Gulf of Thailand yesterday in an extremely rare sighting. Danai Unglo, the owner of Mister Khai Tour Company, said he was leading a group of 15 tourists to go snorkelling at Koh Klum island in Trat province’s Koh Chang…
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Phuket chosen as pilot province to promote organic tourism
The popular holiday resort of Phuket has been chosen as a pilot province to promote organic tourism. The Thai Organic Consumer Association (TOCA) revealed it wants to boost organic tourism in the province in an effort to connect hotels and consumers with farmers digitally and introduce incentive reward programmes. TOCA President Arrut Navaraj believes that information transparency would benefit everyone…
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Thailand makes another travel list: Fodor’s No List
Thailand boasted recently of its ranking on many travel lists, from being among the least corrupt countries in Asia to ranking one of the best locations for expats, and rating one of the safest countries to visit. The country has made the ranks by having some of the top-rated food and beaches in the world. But Thailand also received a…
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Pattaya reveals ugly side of Sin City: rats, rubbish, & rat-arsed
The morning after the night before in Pattaya reveals the ugly side of the popular party city. “They danced and sang, and the music played in a da boom-boom town” on New Year’s Eve but now the clean-up of Sin City begins. Pattaya woke this morning to garbage strewn all over the pavements and beach areas, witnessed drunks sleeping among…
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Thailand gains research base in Antarctica
Thailand has sent scientists to join the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition since 2016. Now a China-Thailand research base in Antarctica has been set up at China’s Great Wall Station. Thailand cannot go to Antarctica alone because the kingdom is not a member of the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959. China, South Korea, Japan, and India are the four consultative…
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