57 Thailand provinces face hazardous PM2.5 levels
This morning, 57 out of Thailand’s 77 provinces experienced dangerous levels of ultrafine dust pollution, as reported by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).
Thirteen provinces recorded hazardous PM2.5 levels, particles 2.5 micrometres or smaller, with Nong Bua Lam Phu reaching the highest concentration at 99.1 microgrammes per cubic metre over the past 24 hours.
Sisaket followed with 92.1µg/m³, then Ubon Ratchathani at 88.8, Kalasin at 86.2, Surin at 84.4, Buriram at 83.6, Maha Sarakham at 82.8, Sing Buri at 81.9, Khon Kaen at 81.8, Roi Et at 77.1, Udon Thani at 75.9, Bangkok at 75.5, and Saraburi also at 75.5. The government considers 37.5µg/m³ as the safe threshold.
Meanwhile, 20 provinces, primarily in the north and south, enjoyed safe air quality. Sixteen provinces reported moderate air quality with PM2.5 levels ranging from 27 to 36.5µg/m³, including Pattani, Yala, Satun, Phatthalung, Narathiwat, Phuket, Songkhla, Trang, Lampang, Phayao, Phangnga, Ranong, Surat Thani, Chiang Rai, Chumphon, and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Krabi, Lamphun, Chiang Mai, and Mae Hong Son reported good air quality, with PM2.5 levels at 24, 22.1, 19.2, and 16.5 respectively, reported Bangkok Post.
Forty-four other provinces faced orange levels of PM2.5, indicating a risk to health, with concentrations between 44.1 and 74.8µg/m³. These regions included Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Rayong, and Samut Prakan.
In similar news, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) plans to request the government’s declaration of Bangkok as an air pollution control area due to anticipated rises in PM2.5 levels over the coming week.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt announced on January 29 that he will present the proposal to the Cabinet next week. Declaring Bangkok a pollution control area would empower the BMA to better address haze pollution by accessing funds from the environment fund, initiated under the Act on the Promotion and Preservation of the Quality of the Environment.
The BMA is implementing measures to combat PM2.5 haze pollution, including prohibiting non-registered six-wheeled trucks or larger from entering low-emission zones within the city’s Ratchadaphisek ring road.
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