More haze may be heading for Phuket

PHUKET: The haze creeping across Southern Thailand is blanketing the skies over Satun, Trang, Songkhla, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, but has yet to seriously affect Phuket.

An advisory issued by state-run news agency MCOT reported a moderate-yet-thickening blanket of haze – believed to be the result of wild fires burning on Sumatra, Indonesia – has hovered over Thailand’s southernmost provinces for at least the past three days.

The advisory follows an air quality monitoring station in Haad Yai reporting deteriorating air quality in Songkhla.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Pollution Control Department advise the elderly, young children and people who suffer from allergies in the affected areas to stay indoors.

The Thai Meteorological Department (MET) office in Phuket told the Gazette today that it will probably not last long and expect ensuing monsoon rains to dilute the haze.

While reports attribute the haze to Sumatran wild fires, officers at the MET have not yet officially confirm the source of the haze. At the time of posting this report online, they were waiting for test results.

Reports over the past several days have also identified a blanket of haze enveloping swathes of Malaysia.

The Soputan volcano, located in the northern part of the Indonesian island Sulawesi, was reported to have erupted during the early hours of Monday, shooting a cloud of smoke up to six kilometers into the air.