pollution
- Northern Thailand News
Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai – all suffering choking smog today
The whole Bangkok and its suburbs is suffering from excessive PM2.5 dust and smoke particles in the air today. Around the city the readings have been uniformly ‘unhealthy’ for the entire day with readings as high as 188 particles of 2.5microns per cubic metre. Putting a stamp on the whole appalling situation is the list of the world’s Top 10…
- Environment News
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 News
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 Updates
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 News
Hazy days and Sundays – Bangkok has fifth highest air pollution in the world
“Unhealthy”. That about sums up the air Bangkokians are breathing this morning, a situation almost completely avoidable but allowed to continue by the Thai Government. Bangkok is in bad company today with other polluted cities in Asia – Lahore, Hanoi, Delhi and Dhaka – as the fifth most polluted city in the world, a headline the Thai Government would prefer…
- Environment News
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 News
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 News
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 News
Salty tap water and dirty air – Bangkok’s environmental woes continue today
Brackish tap water, with increased salinity caused by seawater back-flowing into the Chao Phraya River, is threatening the gardens in and around the Government House compound. Government House officials are seeking assistance from the Agriculture Department. Several small tree species – Lamduan, Chor Sumalee, Rachavadi, Nom Maew and Hom Muenlee – are more vulnerable to brackish tap water. The gardens…
- Environment News
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 News
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 News
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…
- Transport News
Pollution Control Department officials roll out car-free day on Wednesdays
PHOTO: kenlwrites.com “She says the drive normally takes her an hour and a half but by using the bus and train on Wednesday, her journey time was reduced to 50 minutes.” Thailand’s Pollution Control Department in Bangkok is rolling out a “No Car Wednesday” initiative, with staff being encouraged to choose public transport over their cars for one day a…
- Environment News
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 News
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 News
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…
- Northern Thailand News
Less monitoring, more enforcement – Prawit warns northern officials
PHOTO: The Thaiger Thai Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa were in Chiang Mai yesterday to give provincial governors and state agency officials a ‘heads up’ in preparation for another looming season of forest fires and haze. The North suffers perennial choking smog from approximately February to April, and Prawit passed on a message…
- Environment News
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 News
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 News
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…
- World News
Indonesia’s burning issue – controlling the palm oil giants
PHOTOS: Donny Sophandi and AFP A brutal Indonesian forest fire season blanketed some of south east Asia in choking smog is renewing scrutiny of the country’s major palm oil and paper companies. Activists are accusing them of breaking promises to halt logging. The monster plantation blazes sent a pall of acrid smoke over the region for weeks, closing schools and…
- Environment News
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 News
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 News
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…
- Environment News
Old Thai habits die hard: Businesses are trying but shoppers remain stubborn
GRAPHICS: The Nation Thailand is now abuzz over the issue of plastic pollution. This topic is now being widely discussed among Thai netizens, who have been suggesting many measures, including controlling the use of plastic bags at supermarkets and convenience stores. But so much of daily Thai life still revolves around single-use plastics it is taking radical changes in behaviour and…
- World News
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 News
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…
- Environment News
Thailand Prime Minister rejects calls to ban plastic bags
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times In what some may see as a baffling contradiction, Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha promised to protect marine life, while simultaneously rejecting an increasing number of calls for a ban on single-use plastic bags. Following the death of Marium, a young dugong who had ingested plastic waste, the PM says he has ordered the agencies concerned to…
- Environment News
Blackwater at Phuket’s Nai Harn beach due to ‘natural causes’
‘Blackwater’ has returned at one of Phuket’s favourite beaches, this time in the lagoon behind Nai Harn beach, which flushes out naturally when the tide conditions are right. For now, it is dammed up by the sand and has developed into an ugly cesspool for passersby to see. Responding to complaints from local residents, Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos has denied…
- Environment News
Cha-Am blackwater flowing into the beach is “natural in origin” – District Chief
PHOTOS: Daily News The Cha-Am district chief and a posse of officials have inspected a patch of ‘black water’ flowing into the Gulf of Thailand after social media posts showed “sewage” flowing into the sea at a beach north of Hua Hin. Not surprisingly, and without evidence, Khajornsak Somboon admitted the offensive outflow was “smelly” but denied it was effluent from…
