Chiang Mai Air Quality & Pollution

[canopy 1,928]

While that could be totally valid there is a more complete and predictable equation why air quality is bad in winter in Thailand: no rain. When it rains in the dry season the air gets good. When it doesn't rain in the wet season the air gets bad. Rain or lack of is the key factor. Simple rule: no rain = bad air, rain = good air no matter what time of year. Quite simply air quality is a function of dryness. If it stops raining on any arbitrary day of the year you can set your watch to what will happen: several sunny days go by and the air quality will start plunging as more and more people burn stuff as it gets dryer and dryer. AQI now is drifting to 100 and beyond. I see so many people burning wood to stay warm and wonder how much this contributes to the bad air during cold spells.

 

[ChristianBlessing 305]

On 11/13/2019 at 10:20 AM, villagefarang said:

In my experience, many of the people demanding perfection from Thailand and the environment are people who neglect their health on so many levels.  Many smoke, drink, are overweight, drive dangerously and have anger problems...

 

 

I still marvel at the motorbike rider wearing no helmet but wearing a filter mask, or the guy who has to remove his N95 filter to take a puff off his cigarette.

[dcnx 8,379]

3 hours ago, ChristianBlessing said:

I still marvel at the motorbike rider wearing no helmet but wearing a filter mask, or the guy who has to remove his N95 filter to take a puff off his cigarette.

I’m not condoning driving without 

 a helmet, one saved my life, but in terms of risk, I can understand why someone would wear a mask and not a helmet, especially if putting around on side roads or in the village.

 

It’s 100% certain you will breath toxic fumes without a mask. There’s no escaping it. You need a mask.

 

However, the odds of having a motorbike accident are fairly low if you’re not driving like an idiot, not speeding, and are alert. The risk is even lower that you would but your head during an accident that didn’t involve speed. 
 

We are all going to breath today, all day. Probably none of us will have an accident today, or at least one that involves head trauma. 

[cerox 618]

I really do not understand this.

I have been here since 2016 every winter, never seen it like this.

Why is the air quality now at smoky season levels and two days ago at airport area the sky looked greyish, not the normal clear/blue colour.

Is smoky season now six month? December until/including May?

[jimgilly 80]

Every indication is this is going to be another bad year for Chiang Mai, perhaps even exceeding last year. 

Anyone thinking about moving to CM should reconsider and those currently in CM should make plans to spend the next several months in a healthier climate or move out all together. 

[Dante99 2,884]

Contact the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, of the Thai government and get them off their butts to fix this problem.

 

Oh, there is no Thai government EPA or similar governmental agency with environmental responsibilities.

 

Now do you start to get the message?

[elephant45 371]

It will never get better.

[SoilSpoil 3,293]

18 minutes ago, elephant45 said:

It will never get better.

Of course it will, there is no choice. Western countries were dumping barrels of nuclear waste in the oceans in the 70's, we had acid rain in Europe, London had its fair share of smog, the rivers were heavily polluted. Things and time have changed an so it will here, but it will take some time with ignorance and apathy being the largest obstacles.

[Dante99 2,884]

18 minutes ago, SoilSpoil said:

Things and time have changed an so it will here, but it will take some time with ignorance and apathy being the largest obstacles.

Poverty may be a larger obstacle.  The poor forrage the forest for mushrooms.  The poor also accept deals from big business to grow corn.  Burning for corn and mushrooms takes place at the peak pollution period before the rainy season.  Rice burning is spread out since there are 2 or 3 crops per year. 

[McTavish 50]

31 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

Poverty may be a larger obstacle.  The poor forrage the forest for mushrooms.  The poor also accept deals from big business to grow corn.  Burning for corn and mushrooms takes place at the peak pollution period before the rainy season.  Rice burning is spread out since there are 2 or 3 crops per year. 

That is one of your better posts, an informed opinion.  

 

As to why we have minor pollution this early, in winter, one should remember that November saw little or no rain and high temperatures dried things out to create dust and an ideal rice chaff burn.

Current haze contains as much dust as smoke.

[dcnx 8,379]

On 12/14/2019 at 8:27 AM, cerox said:

I really do not understand this.

I have been here since 2016 every winter, never seen it like this.

Why is the air quality now at smoky season levels and two days ago at airport area the sky looked greyish, not the normal clear/blue colour.

Is smoky season now six month? December until/including May?

Thailand 4.0 

[Bill97 1,364]

4 hours ago, McTavish said:

 

Current haze contains as much dust as smoke

Do you have some data to share on that?  Thanks.

[canopy 1,928]

11 hours ago, Dante99 said:

The poor also accept deals from big business to grow corn.

Whatever the farmers grow, they burn it: sugar cane, rice, corn, just everything. This has nothing to do with big business. It's the farmers dumb idea because it depletes the soil and accelerates top soil erosion. In our countries the farmers don't do this of course no matter how big or small a business is.

 

Forest burning is done for many reasons, not just mushrooms. Hunters love to burn forests. So do encroachers. And it has been reported here that the forestry department itself deliberately burns their own forests using so called controlled burning. Sad but true.

 

It's a burning culture. Every piece of land and every possible thing that can be burned is burned. And it's not for economic reasons. People don't need to toss their plastic trash into a fire. I am afraid they simply enjoy doing all these things and no one really cares about the air. That's where Thailand is at in the 21st century. Blaming big business for the problem is just so, so off the mark.

 

[Dante99 2,884]

12 hours ago, canopy said:

Blaming big business for the problem is just so, so off the mark.

You are probably unaware of the extensive corn planting promotion by big business and the degree to which the implementation of those programs lines up with the recent years increases in pollution.  It is not hard to find out and is generally accepted as a major factor contributing to the bad air.

 

12 hours ago, canopy said:

I am afraid they simply enjoy doing all these things and no one really cares about the air.

Again uninformed.

[elephant45 371]

I wish that Land Transport would be mentioned here too. How on earth do thee super diesel polluting trucks get out on the road. If I get behind one I turn off my air con and try to get by as fast as possible. I've also seen all sectors of gov burning huge piles of plastic and whatever in plain view in various places which blows me away. Sometimes I think the more we complain the more they do it! "Hey farang no like this, let's do it"