The world record Chiang Mai would gladly relinquish

[webfact]

The world record Chiang Mai would gladly relinquish

By The Nation

 

 

Chiang Mai had no problem on Monday maintaining its World No 1 ranking as the most polluted city on the planet, scoring a 241 in air quality index (AQI) at airvisual.com.

 

Struggling to keep up were Delhi, India (AQI 231) and Lahore, Pakistan (221).

 

The Pollution Control Department (PCD) cited unsafe levels of PM2.5 – airborne particulates 2.5 microns or less in diameter – in nine northern provinces, ranging from 55-169 micrograms per cubic metre of air. 

 

The safe limit in Thailand is 50mcg, double the dose recommended by the World Health Organisation, and the safe level for AQI is 100. 

 

 

At 10am on Monday, airvisual.com gauged Chiang Mai at 191mcg of PM2.5, topping its World AQI Rankings, to match a 241 AQI.

 

The PCD, measuring 24-hour averages of PM2.5, put the tambon of Wiang Phang Kham in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district at 169mcg.

 

Also wheezing in haze were Wiang in Muang Chiang Rai (94mcg), Chang Pheuk (100), Suthep (59) and Sri Phum (92) in Muang Chiang Mai and Chang Kherng (55) in Mae Chaem, Chiang Mai. 

 

In Lampang, the tambon of Phra Baht in Muang district was at 87mcg, and Sop Pad (61), Ban Dong (114) and Mae Mo (81) in Mae Mo district. 

Ban Klang in Muang Lamphun was at 80mcg, Jong Kham in Muang Mae Hong Son at 96, Nai Wiang in Muang Nan at 84, Na Chak in Muang Phrae 62, Ban Tom in Muang Phayao 82 and Mae Pa in Tak’s Mae Sot district at 76.

 

Dr Asadang Ruayajin, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control, urged at-risk people in haze-affected areas – small children, elderly, pregnant and chronically ill – to wear facemasks while outdoors.

 

No one should be setting fires of any kind, he stressed. 

 

And every measure should be taken to guard against falling ill due to the haze – keep windows and doors closed and clean homes of accumulated dust.

 

Asadang said his department was involved in efforts by Chiang Mai’s Disease Control Office 1 to get multiple agencies working on the problem.

 

It had dispatched Surveillance and Rapid Response Teams to help citizens in smoggy areas and was supplying facemasks for local authorities to distribute among at-risk groups and people who work outdoors, like traffic police and motorcycle-taxi drivers.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30366010

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-18

[DNPBC0]

There is no safe limit for PM2.5, and it does The Nation no credit for continually suggesting that there is. This is very sloppy journalism.

[Captain_Bob]

Misleading "journalism" as usual. It is NOT a Chiang Mai-specific issue, but all over the north/interior of Burma, Thailand, Laos, China, Cambodia, etc. Anywhere which is agriculturally intensive and tolerates/allows/ignores seasonal agricultural burn-off which coincides with hot dry stagnant season is subject to this roughly 2-month period of shitty air. Good that it gets increasing publicity/awareness every year due to social media with everyone having a "camera" of some sort, but until politicians, cops, army, etc find a reason (yeah we know, ha ha) to strictly enforce burn bans while encouraging alternative eco-friendly ways of clearing land it will continue to suck every year while they spray (waste) huge amounts of water for the cameras. Delhi, Lahore, etc. have their own reasons - heavy industry and traffic, not quite as applicable to Chiang Mai where the air can be even worse outside the city in the rice fields and hills. And no there is not a "safe" level of PM2.5/10 as any of it is harmful. 

[KarlS]

2 minutes ago, Captain_Bob said:

Misleading "journalism" as usual. It is NOT a Chiang Mai-specific issue, but all over the north/interior of Burma, Thailand, Laos, China, Cambodia, etc. Anywhere which is agriculturally intensive and tolerates/allows/ignores seasonal agricultural burn-off which coincides with hot dry stagnant season is subject to this roughly 2-month period of shitty air. Good that it gets increasing publicity/awareness every year due to social media with everyone having a "camera" of some sort, but until politicians, cops, army, etc find a reason (yeah we know, ha ha) to strictly enforce burn bans while encouraging alternative eco-friendly ways of clearing land it will continue to suck every year while they spray (waste) huge amounts of water for the cameras. Delhi, Lahore, etc. have their own reasons - heavy industry and traffic, not quite as applicable to Chiang Mai where the air can be even worse outside the city in the rice fields and hills. And no there is not a "safe" level of PM2.5/10 as any of it is harmful. 

Misleading or not there is no excuse for Thailand not preventing the seasonal burn off in Thailand 

[Dinobot]

Good Job Thailand, you are NUMBER ONE!!!

[fantom]

Thankyou Captain Bob, you said it well.

[ifmu]

they will not do anything about it .. they will continue to burn and pollute and not enforce clean vehicles and clean plants ... in my lifetime or anyone else on this forum it will take at least 2 gens to even start a series of programs  ..

I grew up in California  at that time the smog was horrible .. we would keep kids out of school for the worst days, smog laws began to take hold slowly .. the car industry began to build cleaner cars and the government began to enforce the laws .. now 50 years later  the smog has almost disappeared ...  this was the auto industry thailand has many more areas of pollution .. those of us on this forum will never see the end to smog/pollutants in thailand

[Lucius verus]

Thailand is Bangkok. Same as London is England. I've lived in Bangkok for 20 years . Never heard anything about Chiang Mai.

Bangkok is power. Chiang Mai is up to you.

Bangkok is already  building an elevated sky train  into Korat.

Nothing to do with me. Ask Thais.

No-one in Bangkok has ever heard of Chiang Mai .If they have, they certainly don't care.

I am from Melbourne I couldn't careless what anyone thinks of the Golden Triangle.

That's someone else's business.