Smoke, Smog, Dust 2015 Chiang Mai

[Awk]

The lowest PM2.5 concentration today was 72 ug/m3 @ 1600h. 2100h = PM2.5 109ug/m3.

Please do not for any instant think that 72 ug/m3 of PM2.5 is clean healthy air. It is not.

Over here in Singapore, 72 ug/m3 PM2.5 is still considered Unhealthy hazy air. 109 ug/m3 PM2.5 is definitely considered to be quite hazy. My colleagues/parents/regular joe on the street start to notice that it's hazy when it hits about 50-60 ug/m3 and start to dig for news and be mindful. Only the hardcore joggers go jogging when it's above 60ug/m3. Just to give you people another frame of reference.

I'd love to put my DC1700 next to the 36t station for some hours to calibrate it against the pm2.5 readings 36t reports. As it is, the results I get do not seem to match too well. When 36t reports pm2.5 at it's worst in the morning, e.g., numbers above 300ug/m^3, I get 30,000+ on the DC1700, perhaps up to 40,000. This matches in the sense that it's the worst I've seen.

Yet during the early afternoon, around 15:00, today, yesterday, and most other recent days, the DC1700 reports pm2.5 numbers around 3,000-4,000. 36t also reports considerably lower numbers at this time, e.g. slightly less than 100ug/m^3, though this is as you say still very unhealthy. If the relationship with 36t was linear, the DC1700 should have been reporting at least the double I'd think. This has been the case both about 5km from 36t, and 15km from 36t on all days I've checked. Any idea why this might be?

At it is, I've been using the dc1700 readings of 3,000-4,000 as an excuse to do some of my favourite outdoor exercise, which I for logistic reasons need to do around 15:00 anyway.

[vivid]

I'd love to put my DC1700 next to the 36t station for some hours to calibrate it against the pm2.5 readings 36t reports. As it is, the results I get do not seem to match too well. When 36t reports pm2.5 at it's worst in the morning, e.g., numbers above 300ug/m^3, I get 30,000+ on the DC1700, perhaps up to 40,000. This matches in the sense that it's the worst I've seen.

Yet during the early afternoon, around 15:00, today, yesterday, and most other recent days, the DC1700 reports pm2.5 numbers around 3,000-4,000. 36t also reports considerably lower numbers at this time, e.g. slightly less than 100ug/m^3, though this is as you say still very unhealthy. If the relationship with 36t was linear, the DC1700 should have been reporting at least the double I'd think. This has been the case both about 5km from 36t, and 15km from 36t on all days I've checked. Any idea why this might be?

5km is a very large distance. You would have noticed that the wind speed alone causes the numbers to fluctuate quite a lot. That is why some laser particulate counters have pumps instead of fans.

Take a hotspot, it emits a certain fixed amount of smoke. Imagine a 5kph wind blowing the smoke towards you. Now, imagine a 30kph wind blowing the smoke towards you. And then 60kph.

You get the picture?

[sharktooth]

The golf courses are suddenly down from 200 players daily to less than 50. For the ease of round number maths, that's about 1000 fewer every day across 6-10 courses, with each round over 2000 baht, plus food/drink/buggies/caddy fees etc

A drop in income of over 2million baht a day for so long as this cr*p air quality continues.

But somehow I doubt that any course owners have called the Governor of CM to ask <deleted> he is doing about the burn-offs. Because they know the answer-SFA.

I have never felt so tired as after my 4 hour golf walk on Tuesday- too little oxygen. Like climbing at altitude.

I played Royal Chiang Mai yesterday and it was minging.

[beau thai]

The golf courses are suddenly down from 200 players daily to less than 50. For the ease of round number maths, that's about 1000 fewer every day across 6-10 courses, with each round over 2000 baht, plus food/drink/buggies/caddy fees etc

A drop in income of over 2million baht a day for so long as this cr*p air quality continues.

But somehow I doubt that any course owners have called the Governor of CM to ask <deleted> he is doing about the burn-offs. Because they know the answer-SFA.

I have never felt so tired as after my 4 hour golf walk on Tuesday- too little oxygen. Like climbing at altitude.

I played Royal Chiang Mai yesterday and it was minging.

?? 'Minging' meaning what in this context?? Bad weather/air quality? Busy? What time of day?

[vivid]

I learnt something new today.

minging

ˈmɪŋɪŋ/

adjective

Britishinformal

adjective: minging

1. foul-smelling.

   • very bad or unpleasant.

     "the weather was minging"

[Tywais]

Message for U.S. Citizens: Air Quality in Northern Thailand

During this season when region-wide agricultural burning causes poor air quality, and poses a health threat, the Consulate wants to remind U.S. citizens to be aware of the local Air Quality Index (AQI) and take appropriate measures to minimize the impact on your health. The Thai government’s Pollution Control Department calculates the AQI daily and posts measurements online at http://www.pcd.go.th/. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains the AQI on its website at http://airnow.gov. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends what to do during periods of poor air quality at http://cdc.gov.

For more localized reports, see the Air Quality Guide at http://www.aqmthai.com/. Click on the British flag to see the website in English. Then click Air Quality Index and select a location from the drop down menu. By clicking Report, and selecting that same location, the graph or table will show results listed hourly.

[Tywais]

What a difference a few days can make. The first photo I did on the 9th and the 2nd today. The one I did today I used my dSLR with zoom 280mm on it, the 1st was with a mobile camera but I cropped it to match approximately the same field of view.

[vivid]

[vivid]

http://www.weather.gov.sg/wip/c/portal/layout?p_l_id=PUB.1003.541

[vivid]

[vivid]

A more layman article

http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/News/Pages/Haze-Hazard.aspx

After the haze hit Singapore in 1994, Ms Edna Chia was diagnosed with asthma – at the age of 47. She recalled: “I didn’t have asthma in my childhood. I had not even heard of it.” It started with a cough, which persisted for months, and worsened into wheezing and breathing difficulties. When she was finally diagnosed with asthma, she was
in hospital for about 10 days. She now takes medication daily.

Ms Chia, now 63, a sales executive at a piano shop, said: “This is old-age asthma that I have to take to the grave.” Though it is unlikely that the haze caused her asthma, it probably triggered a latent genetic predisposition, said her doctor, Dr Chan Tiong Beng, a consultant respiratory physician at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.

This is the hidden danger for such people from haze – a mixture of suspended particles, water vapour, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and other chemicals. Though intermittent haze in Singapore is unlikely to be hazardous to healthy people, it can aggravate underlying conditions. Last week, smoke drifting here from burning forests in Indonesia pushed air quality to over 100 points on the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), signalling unhealthy air.

So how does haze hurt the body?

Nose
During inhalation, particles and chemicals irritate the nose, which secretes mucus to flush out the particles. As more mucus is produced, the nasal passage becomes blocked and the nose swells. The reaction is magnified in
people who have allergic rhinitis, said Dr Kenny Pang, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon who runs a clinic at the Paragon. If the symptoms become too severe, they can take antihistamines, he said.

Airways and lungs
The particles may inflame the airways and the lungs as they travel downwards. The airways and lungs produce phlegm to try to get rid of the particles. The airways spasm to provoke a cough to expel the foreign matter. As phlegm narrows the
airways, more phlegm is produced, creating a vicious circle, said Dr Chan. Even people without chronic respiratory problems can suffer from breathlessness, he said.

Children are more vulnerable as they breathe faster, have a higher metabolic rate and have lungs that are still developing, said Dr Ong Thun How, a consultant at Singapore General Hospital’s respiratory and critical care medicine department.

The elderly and pregnant women should also take extra care, because their lungs tend to have less capacity, he said. Worst-hit are those with asthma and chronic lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They should keep to their daily control medication and increase the dose, if needed, according to an action plan drawn up earlier with their doctors, said Dr Gerald Chua, head of the department of medicine at the Jurong Health Services-run Alexandra Hospital. They should make sure they have an adequate supply of rescue medication in case of an attack, he said.

Heart
With the nose and airways inflamed, the body is under stress and the heart pumps faster, increasing the blood pressure. The body also releases chemicals that make blood clot more easily. Higher blood pressure and the formation of blood clots can cause a heart attack, stroke or heart failure in those who have coronary heart disease or whose hearts are already beginning to fail, said Dr Chuang Hsuan-Hung, a cardiologist from Gleneagles Medical Centre.

Eyes
The particles and chemicals can cause burning sensations, irritate the eye into tearing to clean itself and inflame the
conjunctiva, the surface layer on the white of the eyeball. Those with a history of dry, sensitive eyes and allergic conjunctivitis are most at risk, said Associate Professor Chee Soon Phaik, who heads Singapore National Eye Centre’s ocular inflammation and immunology service and cataract service.

The inflammation of the conjunctiva worsens dry eyes and adds to existing inflammation from allergic conjunctivitis, she said. Avoid wearing contact lenses and put on wrap-around glasses. Use preservative-free lubricants every hour to remove allergens. Any eye swelling can be reduced by placing a warm towel over the eyes for a minute or two. If the symptoms worsen or become severe, see an ophthalmologist, who may prescribe medications such as
topical steroids.

Skin
The haze should have little effect on healthy skin, said Dr Steven Thng, consultant dermatologist at the National
Skin Centre. But those with eczema – “asthma of the skin” – may find it becoming itchy and inflamed, he said. Using moisturiser three to four times a day can help protect the skin.

General precautions
People with chronic diseases, especially serious ones such as heart and lung diseases, should stay indoors and avoid physical activity outdoors when the PSI hits about 80, doctors advised. Healthy people should do so when the PSI exceeds 100 and crosses into the unhealthy range, they said. If they have to go out, they may wish to wear surgical masks, but these may not block fine particles which can still wreak havoc on the body.

Ms Chia is on her guard against the potential health threat from the current haze. She has increased the dosage of her daily control medication and will stock up on her rescue medication soon. She said of her asthma: “It has happened, so you just have to learn how to live with it.”

[vivid]

General precautions

People with chronic diseases, especially serious ones such as heart and lung diseases, should stay indoors and avoid physical activity outdoors when the PSI hits about 80, doctors advised. Healthy people should do so when the PSI exceeds 100 and crosses into the unhealthy range, they said. If they have to go out, they may wish to wear surgical masks, but these may not block fine particles which can still wreak havoc on the body.

PSI 80 (3-hr) corresponds to a PM2.5 concentration of approx. 35 ug/m3 averaged across 3-hrs.

PSI 100 (3-hr) corresponds to a PM2.5 concentration of 56ug/m3 averaged across 3-hrs.

[vivid]

Does anyone know where is station 58t?

It had a very brief spike of PM10 388 ug/m3 today, which is in the Very Unhealthy zone. On Wednesday, it went up to PM10 446ug/m3. (Hazardous).

6th March, it went up briefly to PM10 of 660 ug/m3

PM10 of 660ug/m3 is actually out of range for AQI (604ug/m3 is AQI 500)

[Tywais]

Does anyone know where is station 58t?

It had a very brief spike of PM10 388 ug/m3 today, which is in the Very Unhealthy zone. On Wednesday, it went up to PM10 446ug/m3. (Hazardous).

Office of Natural Resources and Environment, Mae Hong Son.

Mae Hong Son often gets hit hard during this season. Here is March 3-5.

Flights to Mae Hong Son cancelled due to smoke

04 March 2015, 0:03

If you are flying to Mae Hong Son, be aware that the smoke from burning is causing flights to be cancelled due to poor visibility.

"At Mae Hong Son, airport director Weerawat Takong said Karn Air's ART-60 flights to and from Chiang Mai have been cancelled due to poor visibility since Monday. Pilots require visibility of at least five kilometres but visibility is now only three kilometres. Local officials have been spraying water into the air to lower the dust level. "

Tripadvisor

[vivid]

Office of Natural Resources and Environment, Mae Hong Son.

Mae Hong Son often gets hit hard during this season. Here is March 3-5.

Flights to Mae Hong Son cancelled due to smoke

04 March 2015, 0:03

If you are flying to Mae Hong Son, be aware that the smoke from burning is causing flights to be cancelled due to poor visibility.

"At Mae Hong Son, airport director Weerawat Takong said Karn Air's ART-60 flights to and from Chiang Mai have been cancelled due to poor visibility since Monday. Pilots require visibility of at least five kilometres but visibility is now only three kilometres. Local officials have been spraying water into the air to lower the dust level. "

Tripadvisor

I see. I just checked the visibility and yesterday Mae Hong Son was just down to 800m at 11AM thereabouts.

Mae Hong Son is getting smoked this morning again .

2015-03-14 08:00:00 482.22 ug/m3 (PM10)

No PM2.5 measurements, but I can confidently guess that it's in the 400+ ug/m3 (PM2.5) region from 36t's Chiang Mai reference.

This is a pretty hazardous figure, PM2.5 is significantly more dangerous than PM10 at the same concentration.

Chiang Mai 36t

2015-03-14 06:00:00 120.86 (PM10) 110.79 (PM2.5)

2015-03-14 07:00:00 136.91 (PM10) 131.27 (PM2.5)

2015-03-14 08:00:00 165.31 (PM10) 147.65 (PM2.5)

[jonwilly]

From opening my curtains at 05.00 I could see that Vis had improved, lights inside the moat where visible and thats at least 3 Kms aways.

On leaving condo Doi Suthep Wat was clear and riding through CM Uni I notice many more leaves then normal.

The swimming pool had a fair amount of Foliage in the water so I can only conclude we had a decent blow last night.

Not Good but not one of our bad years, like when they opened the Flower Garden back in 07 (?).

john

[sharktooth]

The golf courses are suddenly down from 200 players daily to less than 50. For the ease of round number maths, that's about 1000 fewer every day across 6-10 courses, with each round over 2000 baht, plus food/drink/buggies/caddy fees etc

A drop in income of over 2million baht a day for so long as this cr*p air quality continues.

But somehow I doubt that any course owners have called the Governor of CM to ask <deleted> he is doing about the burn-offs. Because they know the answer-SFA.

I have never felt so tired as after my 4 hour golf walk on Tuesday- too little oxygen. Like climbing at altitude.

I played Royal Chiang Mai yesterday and it was minging.

?? 'Minging' meaning what in this context?? Bad weather/air quality? Busy? What time of day?

Perhaps I should clarify. The air quality was honking

[vivid]

Very hazardous air quality at Mae Hong Son. PM10 = 564ug/m3. PM2.5 could reach 500ug/m3 as well, deep into the hazardous range.

[vivid]

From opening my curtains at 05.00 I could see that Vis had improved, lights inside the moat where visible and thats at least 3 Kms aways.

On leaving condo Doi Suthep Wat was clear and riding through CM Uni I notice many more leaves then normal.

The swimming pool had a fair amount of Foliage in the water so I can only conclude we had a decent blow last night.

Not Good but not one of our bad years, like when they opened the Flower Garden back in 07 (?).

john

Absolute values per day is one of the main factors that we need to look out for.

Another very important factor is also the overall duration + average figure.

ie 4 days of PM2.5 400 ug/m3 extreme haze vs 60 days of PM2.5 120 ug/m3.

The latter is going to cause more pain with regards to number of people getting sick + number of times getting sick per pax.

In 2014 Feb - Mar for about 2 months, a total of 60,000 people in Riau province, Indonesia got needed medical treatment in hospitals (and close to half a million needed visits to the doc)....simply because the haze was very long in duration AND ranged from moderate to severe (relative to CM's haze). Some people had to flee their hometown and evacuate to higher elevation or elsewhere, simply because the duration was just too long.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/15/tens-thousands-sick-due-haze.html

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/pekanbaru-residents-flee-haze-hit-city-hometowns/

If current CM conditions (definitely noT light haze from the beginning of March, to say the least) persist for another few weeks, there will be quite a lot of pain.

[vivid]

Looks like it's clearing up quite a bit already, now's the lowest levels in March. Enjoy the air.

[jonwilly]

"Absolute values per day is one of the main factors that we need to look out for. "

Nay sorry lad, If it's bad I don't need a machine or experts to tell me.

My, Eyes, Nose, Tongue and Throat do the job.

As someone who has been away for 4 out of last 5 Smog seasons not including present and is sensitive to a bad climate, I'll stick with, It's not too bad this year.

john

Not suggesting it's good, it's not.

[mesquite]

[vivid]

"Absolute values per day is one of the main factors that we need to look out for. "

Nay sorry lad, If it's bad I don't need a machine or experts to tell me.

My, Eyes, Nose, Tongue and Throat do the job.

As someone who has been away for 4 out of last 5 Smog seasons not including present and is sensitive to a bad climate, I'll stick with, It's not too bad this year.

john

Not suggesting it's good, it's not.

I believe you, I did a bit of digging more and it seems that just comparing highest 24-hr average numbers for 2014 is slightly higher than what 2015 got. (about +20%) Perhaps there are other years that had even worse conditions.

I'm not living in Thailand but just have a thing about air pollution because of the kids and family members' slight medical conditions (medical care esp hospitalisation is extremely expensive here so we try not to get sick in any way ). I'm looking at the numbers and it's really scary if this persists till early April till the rains come.

But the point that I mentioned regarding long-drawn lower level pollution was what we exactly what experienced last year in Singapore. The haze was very low level but quite a few of my "sensitive" colleagues were coughing/sniffing > 50% of the time for nearly 3 months instead of the usual 1-2 weeks due to haze. Their bodies just didn't manage to recover before the next bout of haze cloud affected the country. The haze was varying in intensity due to slight variations in wind direction, and the haze was coming from 2 locations (S Sumatra and Kalimantan). In 2013, the haze was extremely high in level for both Malaysia/Singapore, but it only lasted for a 6-days stretch.

[T_Dog]

Looks like it's clearing up quite a bit already, now's the lowest levels in March. Enjoy the air.

Saw huge plumes of smoke today in the mountains and we are already smelling it here in Mae Rim as the mountain air cools and brings the smoke into the valleys. It will likely be worse as the week progresses as we appear to be losing our afternoon winds in the coming week.

[Puwa]

I was in Singapore when the haze hit in 2013 and it was horrific, worse than I've ever seen in Chiang Mai. We bugged out to Krabi.

[vivid]

I was in Singapore when the haze hit in 2013 and it was horrific, worse than I've ever seen in Chiang Mai. We bugged out to Krabi.

LOL!! As mentioned in another post (with pictures), Indonesian peatland haze is special in a sense that it releases obscene levels of carbon/smoke. Peat is really number 1 up there.

The only thing that saved us was really the short duration, the days with hazardous bouts of air quality readings = 3+ days.

One of my IT vendors tried to escape to Malaysia by driving up north over the weekend (Singapore was worst hit on Thur and Fri, if you can remember). And he got hit by even worse conditions during the drive up north. They declared the Malaysian towns of Muar and Ledang to be in a State of Emergency because the Pollutant Index there hit 700+.

In fact, a few provinces in Southern Thailand were even affected when the winds changed direction and blew it up North.

Eg http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Narathiwat-haze-level-now-adverse-to-health-30209120.html

June 26, 2013 1:00 am

Environment Region 16 Office director Halem Jehmarikan said Narathiwat's airborne particulate-matter level rose from 104 micrograms/cubic metre on Monday to 129 yesterday, a level that can affect people's health and respiratory systems. He advised residents to wear face masks when going out and to avoid exercising outdoors. He warned that the elderly and children, as well as those with heart disease and asthma, were especially vulnerable to health risks from the air pollution.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I caught some very bad smoke in Singapore 97 and 2006. The sun looked like the moon. In 2006 I suffered with the smoke all the way to up to Alor Star. Coming out of the smoke into vibrant colours and great visibility was actually stunning.

[vivid]

Looks like it's clearing up quite a bit already, now's the lowest levels in March. Enjoy the air.

Saw huge plumes of smoke today in the mountains and we are already smelling it here in Mae Rim as the mountain air cools and brings the smoke into the valleys. It will likely be worse as the week progresses as we appear to be losing our afternoon winds in the coming week.

Doh!

One more thing, I guess some of you must be wondering why the heck am I watching the haze at CM when I'm not even there. That's coz over here, a bunch of us are really watching the El Nino weather phenomenon. Was supposed to have hit last year but it didn't. Since 2013 we have been relatively lucky due to (1) timing of the increase in hotspots (2) hotspot locations (3) wind direction.

Mentioned before 60k Indon folks needed medical help in Feb-Mar 2014, we were not affected much simply because the NE monsoon was in effect and the winds did not get reversed by any nearby storm systems. Plenty of warnings to get ready to be smoked then. The pollutions levels in Indonesia literally hit the roof of the index and stayed there for quite a while.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Here's huay tung tau at 18:30 today. The burning was only about 10-15 meters short of the lake.

[Tywais]

I believe you, I did a bit of digging more and it seems that just comparing highest 24-hr average numbers for 2014 is slightly higher than what 2015 got. (about +20%) Perhaps there are other years that had even worse conditions.

I've been living/working in Chiang Mai since 1993 and seems 2007 was the worse I've ever seen. I remember the extremely short visibilities on the drive to work, 100 meters or so, and everything was a brown haze. The numbers seem smaller for some reason then now and wonder if measurement methods were different. There were significant hospitalizations during that period, seem to remember around 10,000.

BTW, great job with the numbers and cross comparisons and welcome to the Chiang Mai forum.

In fact, currently (14th March 2007) the pollution is so severe that at Huai Thung Thao public park in Mae Rim district joggers were reported to suffer from respiratory difficulties from the smoke. Even more alarmingly around 400 children and staff at Wiang Ping Children's Home have been suffering from eye irritation and coughing for several days.

http://www.thaibirding.com/news/pollutioninchiangmai.htm

Article from March 2007

SMOG CRISIS IN NORTH

Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son made disaster zones

Paiboon forced to act after Pollution Control Dept reports air quality decline

The government declared Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son disaster zones yesterday after air quality worsened over the weekend.

A pall of thick smoke has blanketed the region since March 1.

Deputy Prime Minister and Social Development and Human Security Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham said the decision was made after the Pollution Control Department reported the deterioration in air quality. Paiboon is in charge of the crisis.

Meanwhile, the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department yesterday deployed 300 forest-fire fighters from the Northeast to Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Phrae and other provinces to help battle burning fires.

Nationmultimedia