air quality

  • Environment NewsPolice commander suggests people in Bangkok work at home once a week to reduce vehicle emissions
    Caitlin AshworthPublished: 12:10, 17 December 2020
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    Police commander suggests people in Bangkok work at home once a week to reduce vehicle emissions

    While air pollution in Bangkok has largely been linked to field crop burning in the North, deputy commander of the Royal Thai Police, Damrongsak Kittipraphat, suggests those in the city work from home once a week to keep pollution levels down. Damrongsak says that if people stay at home like they did during the lockdown, it could help reduce vehicle…

  • Environment NewsThe smog returns to Bangkok
    ThaigerPublished: 09:28, 14 December 2020
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    The smog returns to Bangkok

    The air pollutant PM2.5 is at unhealthy levels in and around Bangkok. 34 areas in the city and in surrounding provinces have levels of PM2.5 exceeding the safety standard, according to an air quality report by the Department of Pollution Control. The air pollutant PM2.5 is fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. At high levels, the pollutant…

  • Environment NewsUrgent plan to reduce PM2.5 – National Environment Board
    Caitlin AshworthPublished: 17:39, 04 November 2020
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    Urgent plan to reduce PM2.5 – National Environment Board

    With the air pollutant PM2.5 rising to harmful levels in some areas of Bangkok and increasing in other cities, the National Environment Board has approved an urgent plan. Pollution Control Department chief Atthaphon Charoenchansa says the plan has 12 measures to tackle pollution. It will be submitted to the Cabinet for review. A “pollution information centre” will be formed with…

  • Environment NewsBangkok air pollution predicted to reach “unhealthy” levels
    Caitlin AshworthPublished: 10:43, 26 October 2020
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    Bangkok air pollution predicted to reach “unhealthy” levels

    At least some good news, Bangkok’s air quality has improved during the lockdown period. In January, it was listed as the “third most polluted city in the world.” By April, air pollution levels dropped down to a “safe” and “healthy”, according to the US Air Quality Index, or AQI. Now the bad news, forecasts predict Bangkok’s air pollution will reach…

  • World NewsChiang Mai chokes as fires rage in the north of Thailand
    ThaigerPublished: 16:19, 30 March 2020
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    Chiang Mai chokes as fires rage in the north of Thailand

    Northern Thailand is choking under a toxic shroud and it’s not getting any better. Air pollution across the upper North remains “at critical levels,” in many areas, including some of the main population centres. Authorities are monitoring almost 400 active hotspots in Chiang Mai alone yesterday. The air quality didn’t improve this morning, with IQAir recording “very unhealthy” air quality…

  • World NewsCambodia burns, Bangkok chokes, schools closed
    ThaigerPublished: 07:57, 26 February 2020
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    Cambodia burns, Bangkok chokes, schools closed

    Bangkok mums and dads will need to sort out what to do with the kids for the rest of the week after the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration closed public schools from today because of the excessive air pollution. Most of the smoke and haze is blowing in from Cambodia with light easterly winds. All schools under the supervision of the BMA…

  • Environment NewsChiang Mai blanketed in smoke as fires burn around the province
    ThaigerPublished: 11:27, 18 February 2020
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    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…

  • Environment NewsAir quality improves in Bangkok, North still battling some haze
    ThaigerPublished: 15:21, 27 January 2020
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    Air quality improves in Bangkok, North still battling some haze

    The severe air pollution which has plagued Thailand in recent weeks is improving: air quality is dramatically better in most areas today except in the north, where the PM2.5 level remains above safe levels, especially Lampang and Phrae provinces. According to the Pollution Control Department, at 10 am the PM 2.5 levels in the northern provinces of Lampang, Lamphun, Nan, Phrae,…

  • Environment NewsGovernment braces for annual increase in air pollution in central and north
    Maya TaylorPublished: 08:24, 23 November 2019
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    Government braces for annual increase in air pollution in central and north

    PHOTO: Travel Daily Media The Public Health Ministry is preparing to deal with the health impacts of an increase in PM2.5 particles, which usually occurs from December in parts of central and northern Thailand. The Nation reports that officials from the Ministry met in Nonthaburi province, central Thailand yesterday, to host a video conference with doctors in health centres across…

  • Environment NewsBangkok 12th worst city for air quality in the world today
    ThaigerPublished: 13:07, 19 November 2019
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    Bangkok 12th worst city for air quality in the world today

    It’s a list you don’t want to be on the top of. The Air Visual website is reporting that Bangkok’s air pollution level stands at 136, with PM 2.5 level at 57.8 micrograms per cubic metre, making the Thai capital the 12th on the list of cities today with the worst air pollution in the world. Chinese and Turkish cities…

  • Environment NewsSmog continues to blanket Bangkok and surround provinces
    ThaigerPublished: 16:33, 01 October 2019
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    Smog continues to blanket Bangkok and surround provinces

    Bangkok and surrounding provinces remain cloaked in dust and smog today, with a red zone reported in Saraburi province, north of Bangkok. The area had a reading of 155, more than three times the World Health Organisation recommended upper limit. But, generally, the air quality has improved, compared to yesterday higher readings. Several areas in the greater Bangkok area were…

  • Environment NewsSmoke-laced smog envelops Phuket
    ThaigerPublished: 08:18, 23 September 2019
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    Smoke-laced smog envelops Phuket

    MAIN PHOTO: Phuket International Airport – Phuket People’s Voice Phuket awakes today enveloped by an eerie sea of smoke-laced mist and smog – a combination of light winds, smoke blowing up the Malacca Strait from the Indonesian plantation fires and low seasonal cloud. The conditions have reduced visibility generally around the island to less than a kilometre. Planes have still been…

  • Northern Thailand News250,000 northerners seek help for smog-related conditions
    ThaigerPublished: 12:09, 05 March 2019
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    250,000 northerners seek help for smog-related conditions

    Up to 250,000 northerners are seeking medical treatment for four different illnesses that have flared up amid the intense air pollution between February 17 and 23. The Office of Disease Prevention and Control 1 in Chiang Mai has put the figure of affected residents at 248,618, including a high numbers of respiratory complaints among children under four and cardiovascular concerns…

  • Environment NewsPoor air quality and smoke continue to dog Chiang Mai
    ThaigerPublished: 12:38, 22 February 2019
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    Poor air quality and smoke continue to dog Chiang Mai

    PHOTO: Sanook Chiang Mai continue to suffer from a smog and haze crisis. Residents are suffering the affects of the poor air quality for the second week in a row in the northern Thai city. A high reading of 176 has been recorded just north of the city centre but the areas all around Chiang Mai are registering high readings recorded…

  • Environment NewsHaze and air pollution returns to Bangkok this week
    ThaigerPublished: 11:06, 10 February 2019
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    Haze and air pollution returns to Bangkok this week

    Air pollution around the Thai capital is expected to get worse again this week with an increase in the level of PM2.5 dust particles. A high pressure cell over the central region is forecast and will degrade the air around Bangkok between February 13-15, according to the Meteorological Department. Temperatures will also drop slightly in the Central and Northern regions this week. The…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok air pollution reduction schemes – FAIL
    Tim NewtonPublished: 13:52, 01 February 2019
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    Bangkok air pollution reduction schemes – FAIL

    OPINION Smog, air pollution, air quality, PM2.5 micron particulate. If you live in Bangkok it’s all the same thing. Four water-carrying drones took off from Bangkok City Hall this morning to join three fire engines in the latest assault on health-threatening haze. Bangkok is a city covering some 1,500 square kilometres with a population of over 8 million. The frequent…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok air pollution: PM demands action and threatens limiting road traffic
    ThaigerPublished: 18:22, 31 January 2019
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    Bangkok air pollution: PM demands action and threatens limiting road traffic

    PHOTOS: The Nation The Thai PM says he is determined to step up measures to fight the worsening air pollution problem plaguing Bangkok. Limiting the use of vehicles with an odd-even day schedule is on the cards, he said. Speaking at the opening ceremony of “Our Country, Our Future” exhibition yesterday, Prayut warned that if the smog in Bangkok was…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok smog: Odd-even number plate driving rule threatened
    ThaigerPublished: 09:20, 31 January 2019
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    Bangkok smog: Odd-even number plate driving rule threatened

    PHOTO: PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Praying for a change in the weather? PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is warning that he might be forced to introduce the odd-even number rule for traffic in Bangkok if all other measures to ease the health-threatening smog problem in Bangkok and its peripherals fail (they have so far). With his Article 44 powers, the Prime Minister could…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok smog: Students stay at home whilst drones buzz overhead
    ThaigerPublished: 08:00, 31 January 2019
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    Bangkok smog: Students stay at home whilst drones buzz overhead

    High smog levels in Bangkok are forcing more than 400 schools to close today and tomorrow in an attempt to protect children from harmful effects. The education department says it will review the situation over the weekend. The Thai capital city is experiencing some of its worst-ever ongoing air pollution levels which are exacerbated by ultra-fine dust particles known as…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok smog forces school closures and PM insists on odd/even car driving days
    ThaigerPublished: 15:47, 30 January 2019
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    Bangkok smog forces school closures and PM insists on odd/even car driving days

    The Education Ministry is ordering educational institutes in Greater Bangkok to close for two days, starting tomorrow (Thursday), after smog worsened today. The ministry will review the situation this weekend to decide whether the measures would be extended, said minister Dr Theerakiat Charoensettasin. The decision follows instructions from PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for the ministry to consider urgent measures to deal…

  • Bangkok NewsGreenpeace outs Thailand’s worst smog areas
    ThaigerPublished: 12:17, 26 January 2019
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    Greenpeace outs Thailand’s worst smog areas

    At least 10 suburbs in nine Thai provinces are being called out by pollution watchdog Greenpeace. The organisation has revealed its rankings for 2018 based on a satellite map of PM2.5 concentrations in Thailand and the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Greenpeace is calling for the Thai government to improve the Ambient (Outdoor) Air Quality Standards for PM2.5…

  • Bangkok NewsAuthorities play down air pollution problems in Bangkok
    ThaigerPublished: 15:27, 22 January 2019
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    Authorities play down air pollution problems in Bangkok

    The capital’s air pollution situation has worsened today as the quantity of the dangerous PM2.5 particles has risen for the first time to code-red status of above 90 micrograms per cubic metre of air at many locations. Nearly 10 Bangkok areas at 7.15am this morning were flagged “code red”, which is triggered when inhalable particles with diameters generally sized at…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok smog: Diesel buses and vehicles key problem
    ThaigerPublished: 10:18, 21 January 2019
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    Bangkok smog: Diesel buses and vehicles key problem

    by Wichit Chaitrong “The problem is the estimated 2.5 million diesel-powered trucks and buses still on city roads.” Experts are saying this morning that, given the problems in recent weeks with Bangkok’s smog, the national government’s pursuit of a “low-carbon economy” has fallen short of needs. They are recommending higher taxes on “dirty fuel” and a reduction in the number of…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok smog: Sunday awakes to another day of ‘unhealthy’ air in the capital
    ThaigerPublished: 10:11, 20 January 2019
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    Bangkok smog: Sunday awakes to another day of ‘unhealthy’ air in the capital

    As promised, Bangkok and the central region have been battling with enduring smog this weekend. On Friday the Thai Meteorological Department warned of smog and haze continuing over the weekend in parts of the capital and in nearby Pattaya due to a weakening cold front in the north of country, bordering Laos. Given the fingers pointing at Bangkok’s old buses,…