pollution

  • Northern Thailand NewsNorthern Thailand’s air pollution reaches hazardous levels
    ThaigerPublished: 10:00, 29 March 2020
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    Northern Thailand’s air pollution reaches hazardous levels

    Air quality in the north of Thailand is actually ‘hazardous’ today, as bushfires in Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep-Pui National Park have caused air quality to become nearly 20 times higher than Thailand’s already lax “safe” limit of ’50’. PM2.5, (dust particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 microns or lower), rose to 925 micrograms per cubic metre in some locations yesterday.…

  • Environment NewsChiang Mai smog reaches dangerous levels – 12 x ‘safe’ levels
    ThaigerPublished: 08:33, 26 March 2020
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    Chiang Mai smog reaches dangerous levels – 12 x ‘safe’ levels

    As if the northern city doesn’t have enough to worry about with the coronavirus and scorching daily temperatures, residents are still having to face choking smoke and smog from, mostly, deliberately lit forest fires in the region. PM2.5 levels in some areas soared up to 592 micrograms per cubic metre yesterday, more than ten times the ‘safe’ level. This morning…

  • Environment NewsChiang Mai gets world podium positions two days in a row, for air pollution
    ThaigerPublished: 08:51, 11 March 2020
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    Chiang Mai gets world podium positions two days in a row, for air pollution

    Hot AND polluted. Chiang Mai scored the top position again as the most air polluted city in the world yesterday, according to AirVisual.com. Today it has lost the top spot, but only just. Today’s temperature will again soar close to 40C with the rest of the week continuing to sizzle with almost no respite from the wind (forecast below). Saturday’s…

  • Environment NewsChiang Mai has the world’s worst air quality for second straight day
    ThaigerPublished: 13:39, 01 March 2020
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    Chiang Mai has the world’s worst air quality for second straight day

    Virus or no, you may want to wear a mask if you’re in Chiang Mai today; as of 1:36pm, Airvisual.com has rated air quality there the worst in the world for a second day. Yangon, Kathmandu and Mumbai were close behind. The website showed Chiang Mai’s average pollution at 181, (down from 193 yesterday) meaning particulate matter less than 2.5…

  • Environment NewsAir purifiers to be added to the top of Bangkok buses. Really…
    ThaigerPublished: 14:52, 18 February 2020
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    Air purifiers to be added to the top of Bangkok buses. Really…

    “It is like a single dead pixel on your phone, hardly noticeable” Air purifiers sitting on tops of buses. Apparently this is another solution for Bangkok’s air pollution problems. Sounds like the people selling the mobile bus-top air purifiers have a very convincing sales person! But Bangkok’s Mass Transit Authority director Surachai Eamvachirasakul says the department will go ahead with plans…

  • 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…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesPollution Control Department issues “red alert” for the North
    ThaigerPublished: 10:47, 18 February 2020
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    Pollution Control Department issues “red alert” for the North

    A “red alert” is in effect for northern Thailand today: The Pollution Control Department warns that unsafe levels of PM2.5 pollution have been recorded in several areas, including Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Phayao and Chiang Mai. PM2.5 is particulate matter suspended in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, which is about 3% the diameter of…

  • Environment NewsPathum Thani villagers coping with heavy smoke from rubbish fires
    ThaigerPublished: 22:27, 12 February 2020
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    Pathum Thani villagers coping with heavy smoke from rubbish fires

    Villagers in Pathum Thani Province near Bangkok are complaining of rubbish fires, saying locals are breathing heavy black smoke every day, causing health issues, especially for small children. They claim people are secretly burning garbage and grass in the area. Residents of Sataporn Village have formed a group and reported to local media in hopes taking the issue public. Smoke…

  • Environment NewsSevere air pollution forces Nok Air flight back to Bangkok
    ThaigerPublished: 15:14, 28 January 2020
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    Severe air pollution forces Nok Air flight back to Bangkok

    The severe air pollution which has plagued much of Thailand’s central and northern regions for weeks is showing signs of subsiding, with many areas reporting “moderate” to “good” air quality levels yesterday. But in the north levels remain high, with the pollution in Phrae province preventing a Nok Air plane from landing and forcing it back to Bangkok. Meanwhile, Bangkok…

  • Environment NewsNearly 300,000 Bangkok school students stay at home today as a measure to reduce air pollution
    ThaigerPublished: 10:46, 22 January 2020
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    Nearly 300,000 Bangkok school students stay at home today as a measure to reduce air pollution

    Nearly 300,000 students from 437 schools around Bangkok are having the day off after the Bangkok governor announced they could stay home and avoid the city’s smog. Ironically, today’s city air pollution has reduced to its lowest level in a week. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration suspended classes at 437 public schools for one day and introduced staggered working hours for…

  • Environment NewsCelebrities take to social media and point out Government incompetence over air pollution problem
    ThaigerPublished: 20:06, 21 January 2020
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    Celebrities take to social media and point out Government incompetence over air pollution problem

    “Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said it’s hard to enforce laws to reduce PM2.5 pollution and blamed the public for the poor air quality.” Thai celebrities have taken to social media in a campaign to show the incompetence of public authorities and the Thai government in handling Bangkok’s pollution problem, indeed the entire central and northern Thailand which is currently suffering air…

  • Environment NewsPoor air quality dogs the capital, even before the morning’s traffic starts
    ThaigerPublished: 07:53, 20 January 2020
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    Poor air quality dogs the capital, even before the morning’s traffic starts

    Bangkok awakes on Monday, even before the traffic starts choking up the city air and the factories puff their pollution into the Bangkok skies, with appalling air quality. With light winds and hot temperatures, the city is in for another bad day of air quality. Even at 6am this morning Bangkok ranked number 13 in the worst air pollution of…

  • Environment News50% of Thai trucks checked in Don Mueang belching black smoke
    ThaigerPublished: 10:25, 18 January 2020
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    50% of Thai trucks checked in Don Mueang belching black smoke

    Last April Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that those driving polluting vehicles would face arrest and fines, warning owners of transport businesses they’ll be held responsible for toxic emissions. Now the Department of Land Transport announced it was stepping up measures to bring emission levels from trucks and public transport vehicles within safe limits. The measures are designed to alleviate pollution…

  • Environment NewsCentral Thailand farmers ignore orders to stop burning off their sugar cane
    ThaigerPublished: 15:22, 13 January 2020
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    Central Thailand farmers ignore orders to stop burning off their sugar cane

    Stick your burning ban up your 2.5 micron particulate! Local sugarcane growers in Nakhon Sawan, central Thailand, are burning their fields at night despite authorities’ ban on the practice. It appears little to nothing is being done to curb the practice which is one of the main causes, if not the main cause, of the smoke and haze problems in…

  • Environment NewsBangkok haze and smog continues over the weekend
    ThaigerPublished: 11:02, 11 January 2020
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    Bangkok haze and smog continues over the weekend

    There is unlikely to be much respite of the air pollution shrouding Greater Bangkok this weekend. And the PM is urging people to inform a hotline of any vehicles belching smoke and fumes into the Bangkok sky. The Pollution Control Department says the smog, which saw just about all of the 50 air quality stations hitting levels of PM2.5 over…

  • Environment NewsBangkok’s ranks world’s third worst air quality. Forecast to be bad for the rest of the week.
    ThaigerPublished: 15:42, 09 January 2020
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    Bangkok’s ranks world’s third worst air quality. Forecast to be bad for the rest of the week.

    Bangkok ended up recording the world’s third worst air quality on Air Visual, the air quality monitoring app, yesterday. Not a chart you want to be on top of. Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority remains on high alert for a predicted rise in PM2.5 levels for the rest of the week. High temperatures and light winds are compounding the problem…

  • Environment News80% of garbage in the sea comes from the waterways of Thailand’s cities and towns
    Maya TaylorPublished: 11:41, 17 December 2019
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    80% of garbage in the sea comes from the waterways of Thailand’s cities and towns

    PHOTOS: Kasetsart University Where does all the garbage floating around Thailand’s waters come from? A survey by a leading university shows that 80% of the rubbish, floating in our waterways and off our coastlines, is sourced in Thailand. It ends up eventually polluting the Kingdom’s beaches. Concerns are again being raised about the level of garbage found in the seas around…

  • Environment NewsBangkok air pollution on the rise again
    Maya TaylorPublished: 10:46, 10 December 2019
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    Bangkok air pollution on the rise again

    Flimsy paper face masks will be the only winner in the latest round of air pollution smoking up Bangkok at the moment. The Thai Pollution Control Department reports that excessive PM2.5 particulate is currently on the rise in the capital, suburbs and two neighbouring provinces. PM2.5 particulate is the term used to describe very fine dust particles that reduce visibility…

  • Environment NewsChiang Mai public transport vehicles to undergo random exhaust checks
    Maya TaylorPublished: 11:06, 23 November 2019
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    Chiang Mai public transport vehicles to undergo random exhaust checks

    Officials in Chiang Mai will begin carrying out random checks on public transport vehicle exhausts in a bid to reduce black smoke emissions and help to address the city’s PM2.5 particulate levels. It’s understood the measure is being put in place following complaints from the public about pollution from some vehicles, in particular those transporting passengers up Doi Suthep-Pui, Chiang…

  • 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 NewsThai PM issues warning to drivers of polluting vehicles
    Maya TaylorPublished: 10:19, 04 October 2019
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    Thai PM issues warning to drivers of polluting vehicles

    PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha says those who drive polluting vehicles face arrest, warning owners of transport businesses that they will be held responsible for toxic emissions. Speaking at a ceremony presenting government policy to the National Farmers Council, the PM adds that Thai farmers can play their part by reducing outdoor burning, which contributes to pollution.…

  • Environment NewsBangkok’s blue skies return, but light smog lingers
    ThaigerPublished: 14:56, 02 October 2019
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    Bangkok’s blue skies return, but light smog lingers

    PHOTO: Prae Sakaowan The air pollution situation around Bangkok has vastly improved in the past 24 hours, returning to more reasonable readings around the city. Certainly most of the city is now reading under 100 and in the ‘moderate’ range of the air pollution scale, according to airvisual.com Bangkok’s Pollution Control Department reported at 9am today that levels of particulate…

  • 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 NewsSolving Thailand’s smoke haze problems. “Use shorter or smaller joss-sticks.”
    ThaigerPublished: 11:09, 01 October 2019
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    Solving Thailand’s smoke haze problems. “Use shorter or smaller joss-sticks.”

    Just checking that it’s actually October 1, not April 1… Thailand’s deputy public health minister has, without a hint of irony, suggested a way to alleviate the haze blanketing parts of Thailand, including swathes of the South and Bangkok. Use shorter or smaller joss-sticks during the current Vegetarian Festival. Dr Satit Pitutacha has made the directive and was explained to…

  • Environment NewsThai PM orders anti-pollution measures for smoggy Bangkok
    ThaigerPublished: 15:03, 30 September 2019
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    Thai PM orders anti-pollution measures for smoggy Bangkok

    PHOTO: Narong Sangnak/EPA-EFE The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is ordering Bangkok authorities to immediately activate prepared measures to mitigate the city’s haze and air pollution which has returned to Bangkok and its suburbs over the weekend and today. Expressing concern about the haze the PM pleaded with construction site operators and industries in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces to reduce their…

  • Environment NewsBangkok sewage water home to all sorts
    Maya TaylorPublished: 09:14, 25 September 2019
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    Bangkok sewage water home to all sorts

    PHOTO: Sanook You never know what you’ll find in the sewage system of Bangkok… Thai Residents reports that Sunsern Ruengrit, a municipal worker in the capital, says the system is supposed to only store water, before the water treatment process begins. Instead, it’s home to a variety of garbage, including plastic and glass bottles, cigarette butts, food, oil and fat,…

  • World NewsOfficials hand out face masks whilst southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore choke
    Tanutam ThawanPublished: 09:51, 14 September 2019
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    Officials hand out face masks whilst southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore choke

    The annual haze from intentionally lit forest fires in Indonesia is making life unpleasant in parts of Thailand’s South, with fine-dust readings (PM2.5 microns) in Songkhla and Satun at hazardous levels, over 50 microgrammes per cubic metre of air. The problem is also choking sections of Malaysia and Singapore. In Hat Yai, Songkhla, officials are handing out face masks to…

  • World NewsMalaysia demands Indonesia acts on smog-belching fires
    ThaigerPublished: 08:15, 12 September 2019
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    Malaysia demands Indonesia acts on smog-belching fires

    “An official in Sarawak state on Borneo is demanding Indonesia send face masks and medical supplies to Malaysia for those affected by the pollution.” Malaysia is stepping up pressure on neighbouring Indonesia to tackle huge blazes tearing through its rainforests and smothering Southeast Asia in smog, as fires typically started to clear land for crops send diplomatic tensions soaring. Burning…

  • World NewsIndonesia’s forest fires causing air pollution in southern Thailand
    ThaigerPublished: 11:17, 06 September 2019
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    Indonesia’s forest fires causing air pollution in southern Thailand

    Residents in Thailand’s southern provinces of Songkhla and Satun are being warned to protect their health by wearing face masks or staying indoors as the two provinces are blanketed with smoke from forest fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. The 16th regional environment office reports that dust particles of less than 2.5 microns, were measured at 55 microns/cubic metre during the…

  • Politics NewsGovernment spokeswoman says sorry after posting photo of PM eating from plastic container
    Maya TaylorPublished: 10:53, 06 September 2019
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    Government spokeswoman says sorry after posting photo of PM eating from plastic container

    PHOTO: Scmp.com Thai PBS World reports that a government spokeswoman has had to apologise to the PM after posting a photo on social medial that showed him eating from a plastic container. Narumon Pinysinwat says she shouldn’t have posted the image and that she has apologised for her negligence. The PM was served the food after boarding a plane for…