MESmith

I was out on the 1269/Samoeng Rd both yesterday and this morning. The villagers must have believed the forecast of rain. Yesterday and last night was a big day for burning. There were plenty of still smoldering leaf and garbage piles, agricultural fires, and a lots of roadside clearings.

Why do the Burmese have to travel hundreds of kilometers to set fires in CM??

The air did seem a little less polluted in some areas and I didn't get north of City Hall. Was the air really that clean up there? The current reading meets the EU standard at 44.

A single day or a single reading cannot meet, or fail, the EU standard. You misunderstand the standard, even though people have explained it in this topic several times.

Either way I'm happy with the clearer air. Went back to opening the windows.

I really don't understand the cheap shot at the Burmese. Those practicing traditional agriculture come from all sorts of ethnic roots. But maybe EJ is of La'Na stock and not forgiving yet of the last invasion of Chiang Mai. It was more than a little while ago! There aren't many Burmese among the recent refugee "invasion," actually, and they haven't arrived on armoured elephants! It seems they are mostly taken advantage of.

I interpreted it as a dig at the Thais for blaming all the smog on the Burmese. ie the burning in Burma is the cause, 'cos there's "no burning in Thailand" ;-)

But I could be wrong.....

We've got a couple of lemon trees. Doing a lot better than our lime tree ;-)

Its strange that someone with some land has not latched onto the fact that there is a growing and profitable market for lemons in Thailand.They are very easy to grow. I used to give them away in Oz because most people had a lemon tree and you couldnt sell them in any quantity. Business opportunty for someone.In Makro,Hang Dong today, they have some in stock and 69 baht a kilo from memory.

Farmers don't make money, only the middlemen & the shops. Same in UK. My lemons are MINE ;-)

18:10 pm 11/03/12

2 spots in Hang Dong.

Photo please.....

thailand claims it invented the technology decades ago to make it rain on command .... why not use the technology ?

MEthinks it only works when conditions are right for rain, but rain isn't actually falling. ie the water has to be up there in the sky, & then it's "encouraged" to fall.

so where's this bleeding rain the, up here nr maejo, nowt....is just a general trait with all weather forecasters, their predictions not too accurate.

Take a look at the rain radar - there's a big storm approaching from the southwest.

I saw that quite early today and that formation is not moving very fast if at all. Still hoping the winds bring us some unstable weather so the rain can fall up here. Some good news... For the first time in six weeks I see no smoke from fires for miles around.

True, but at least it's dumping loads of rain on the fires over that way. Which must be beneficial? I hope.....

All we need now is another storm to move in from the north..... Classic pincer movement

We've got a couple of lemon trees. Doing a lot better than our lime tree ;-)

Not all people in all parts of the world have airconditioners; then a stand-alone appliance is a lot cheaper.

Anyway, you could also do both, and apply the 3M material to both your aircon and your air filter; the built in filter will probably last longer that way.

No argument that a separate air purifier is very nice to have by the way. Yours looks really smart.

Too true. Our house doesn't need AC. But if this smog (pleaze don't call it haze) continues, then our natural cooling by opening the windows early morning & closing before it heats up outside, goes, literally "out the window" Looking into air purifiers.....

so where's this bleeding rain the, up here nr maejo, nowt....is just a general trait with all weather forecasters, their predictions not too accurate.

Take a look at the rain radar - there's a big storm approaching from the southwest.

It seems like a post apocalyptic haze here in CM after enjoying the fresh air in Bangkok for the last week.

Today is the best it's been for nearly 4 weeks

Maybe it's 'cause I'm American, but without 'Play' in the title, I thought you were looking for zucchini.

I'm English & thought they were looking for cordial

Definitely clearer. Already seen the first fire lit to celebrate this fact

TMD website shows 25mm of rain in Lampang, yesterday

"This urgent measure will last three days, starting yesterday"

Only rain will stop this. The authorities are powerless or clueless.

I just heard from my friend in Maekachan which is half way between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and he said it has been raining very hard for the past hour. great news!!!

radar is showing rain around Lampang

TMD radar site is showing a few showers to south & east, outside of CM valley, Lampang province. Fingers crossed.....

Really you gets what you pay for.

In the Uk last year I paid £3.40 (190bt) for a 2k bus ride.

Thanks for that.

I'm off to UK for a holiday next month. Better take my hiking boots.....

There is no other way for those farmers to clear their lands for the next crops ? they dont think about others ? apparently not .

Well, any other method would be enormously expensive and less effective which would cause a huge increase in crop prices, both in the food shops in Thailand and for export. The Thai economy is based on cheap farming (40%) and much less on tourism (6%) so without practices such as burning off the land, Thailand would be much less economically competitive and this would lead to an increase in unemployment, reduced investment and a poorer economy. It's not a simple case of the farmers not thinking about others, it's more about no-one coming up with a better method for the farmers, who also suffer respiratory diseases, to use instead.

Well, they could always just plough it back into the soil. They do use tractors, you know. Even after they've burnt the straw, much of stubble remains, & gets ploughed in, anyway.

Ploughing the stubble back into the soil does not reduce pests and diseases - it provides a reservoir for them and is very labour intensive. However, one method is to let the land stay fallow for at least a year or 2 - but that costs the farmers money - the government should pay the farmers to leave their land fallow and then maybe everybody would be happy.

??? How is driving a tractor labour intensive? Also the land is then flooded - doesn't that kill off pests?

Stay on 118. Ignore the google detour around doi saket

I went to Siam TV today to see about a replacement filter for my Toshiba air purifier that I bought from them a year ago.

How do you know that you need a new filter? Does the air purifier indicate this? I'm only asking because, as I was looking into buying one, (not Toshiba), some indicate the filter is good for 10 years (maybe not the cr@p air we're experiencing), hence why filters are so expensive?

"Managing a factory, doubling production"..... "No visa, on overstay"

Can't even get here?

Troll?

Invalid insurance would be my main concern

Up the price some more, sure she will like this one

This thing gets my vote as "Most Embarrasssing and brand damaging concept of the year".,

<deleted>, a luxury SUV with dubs? You've got to be kidding me.

I would not been seen dead in it!

My reaction to the porsche cayenne when it first came out LOL

http://www.tmd.go.th...ionNumber=48327

Even if it doesn't rain naturally, conditions should be more favourable for rain seeding operations.

Weather forecasts show rain towards end of weekend. Don't hold your breath.

"Natural Resources and Environ-ment Ministry permanent secretary Chote Trachoo said he believes the haze situation in the upper northern provinces will return to normal once these strict measures and penalties for illegal forest and bush fires take effect."

Until next year....