Air Pollution in Chiang Rai versus Chiang Mai

[mrmillersr]

I know Chiang Rai also has problems during the year with air pollution but I was wondering if it has been improving or getting worse.  In Chiang Mai elevated levels of P.M. 2.5 started in November last year and it's bad now in January so no telling what we are going to see once we get into February, March and April.

 

Anyway, I would like to hear from anyone who lives in Chiang Rai and has current information so I can decide if maybe I should consider making a move.

[Rotweiler]

I guess I will say what many reading this is already thinking:  Where?  When?

 

There is no single answer.  Depends on where you are (our neighbouring valley can be covered in smoke but none here!).  This is especially true  in the far northern and southern parts of the Province.  

 

When:  what time of the day, as it can vary tremendously depending the the wind conditions at any given moment, and what the date is.  The heaviest periods of smoke appear in early December and March.

 

Finally, it may depend on the extent to mood of our Northern neighbours and the extent to which THEY are burning. 

 

Sky is absolutely clear here now.

[Lacessit]

Chiang Mai is definitely worse year round due to the contribution of traffic. In the burning season, Chiang Rai and neighboring villages are not much different. Cleanest air is up in the mountains.

[simoh1490]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Chiang Mai is definitely worse year round due to the contribution of traffic. In the burning season, Chiang Rai and neighboring villages are not much different. Cleanest air is up in the mountains.

But not necessarily the healthiest since <PM205 is lighter and travels higher and further than the vision obscuring PM10 - PM2.5 is the one that kills. And I don't think traffic adds much to the pollution numbers, traffic is with us 365x7 yet there is ten months out of the year where the numbers are quite good.

Edited January 16, 2018 by simoh1490

[sfokevin]

It’s pretty easy to compare the two real time here...

 

http://aqicn.org/city/chiang-mai/

[Rotweiler]

No, it is not.  The online report is for a specific location in a Province, and as stated earlier, that is inadequate here.

 

 

5 hours ago, sfokevin said:

It’s pretty easy to compare the two real time here...

 

http://aqicn.org/city/chiang-mai/

 

[beavercreek]

There is a nice extension for Chrome browser, where you can select your city and keep an eye on it.  Kind of discouraging...China is unbelievably bad.

[boomerangutang]

Here's a guy in Chiang Rai who shows how to make an air filter for home/office.  It's low cost, and easy to make (takes about a half hour), .....and filters many times more air than store-bought filters than cost many times more.

 

 

[Unify]

I've been watching the AQI for both cities for a few months. Chiang Rai is significantly better, nine days out of ten. However, I don't know if the CR monitoring station is just in a better location, or if it's a real difference.

 

It's late August as I write this, and in CM, there air quality varies from good, to moderate, with a couple of days recently in the 50s or 60s, and a few days near 100. It seems to me that somewhere shy of half the burning season levels are here, year - round. It drops into the green after rain.

 

CM has mountains around a large portion of the city, and I suspect that's why the polluted air tends to hang there. I'm not as familiar with the topography of CR.

 

I'm considering a move to CR, largely because of better air quality, and any insight anyone has is appreciated.

[canopy]

On 8/25/2018 at 9:01 AM, Unify said:

I'm considering a move to CR, largely because of better air quality, and any insight anyone has is appreciated.

 

Never, ever consider moving to CR for the air or you will regret it. I was lucky enough to tour in CR during the burning season one time. I say lucky because I was able to see immediately it would be a mistake to try to live there and decided on another province. Visibility was not just low, in CR it was shocking as it impacted driving because you couldn't see that far in the distance. It was like a volcano had erupted nearby. Sometimes they have firetrucks roaming the streets spouting water to make small pockets of better air. At the hotel the room was closed with air conditioning on yet the air inside was sickening. We put sheets over our heads as a sort of face mask and still could hardly sleep. The next day we admitted it was the most difficult night of sleep in our lives. We rejoiced getting on a plane back to Bangkok because the air there was clean and nice compared to CR.

 

I can't tell you which is worse, CM or CR but the important thing to remember is they both get very bad air along with the entire north of Thailand. The bad air impacts 100% of the population there. It may surprise some people how few months out of the year meet US EPA air quality standards and even Chinese tourists of all people have complained about the air. They are doing their best to hide the bad air by making a more forgiving "Thai scale" of air quality and resisting including PM 2.5 levels. Sadly there is no light at the end of the tunnel, no road map to clean air in the North of Thailand, no hope in our generation. A lot of threads are about buying air purifiers and leaving the area for health reasons. CR would be such a great area without this, but be warned if you go there for the air you will regret it.

 

[Randell]

Canopy It must have been a extremely bad day that you refer back to. I have been here more than 10 years 3 of them full time and have never seen that. Yes there are days when the index is high but have yet to see it last for more than a day in high elevated numbers. Could it be better by all means but I do live out of the city so my air changes more rapidly I guess but I am also closer to the source sometimes. All I can say is I am happy to live here warts and all

[Juri1]

Is the air quality bad regularly (say Nov-Jan) or only during burning season? 

[canopy]

First you have to define "bad". Some define bad meaning the air has reached an uncomfortable level to them. Some base it on visibility; say whether they can see a mountain or not. Yet others define bad as where it is on a scale of an air quality measurement. And a lot of Thai's define bad as when the government tells them to wear face masks and stay indoors.

 

Northern Thailand has a very pronounced dry season. Burning starts almost immediately after the rains stop and it continues and until the rains start again. Thus, air quality degradation often starts sometime in October and will be noticeable immediately as visibility shrinks and the horizons are no longer blue. There is an accumulation effect where the air gets progressively worse which often peaks in the March/April time frame which is where health problems really kick in. Out of season rains can make a great improvement in air quality, though the effects are temporary and very infrequent.

 

I wish I had statistical data for CR to share, but I only have CM. But it's relevant as the air in the entire north of Thailand plays out similarly. These are monthly averages; some days are better, some worse. Some times of a day are better, some worse. Being averages also consider you could have an unhealthy day of air in December and a healthy day in March. And it is based on the US EPA air quality index. This is much stricter than the Thai index. I like the US EPA scale because in America people are genuinely concerned about people's health. In Thailand their concern seems to be a face saving system to sweep it under the rug and hence their scale is more lenient and they refuse to include the dangerous PM 2.5 particles. So looking at the last 2 years chart what is surprising is how few months are green zone good air. And notice the characteristic up tick in October that worsens until May rains arrive.

 

 

 

So what do these colors mean?

 

 

 

 

[chingmai331]

I note from the offered chart that things are improving, at least from 2016 to 2017.  Maybe 2018 will be even better as govt regs take effect.

 

Can comment on CM pollution in central city.  During day/evening hours not good at all due to dense traffic.  On hot days the brown cloud over the city, as seen from the mountain, is very evident.

[canopy]

2018 is not over yet, but the numbers show so far it is in between--better than 2016 but worse than 2017. It's hard to make a perfect comparison though because there are variations in dry season length, how dry it gets, winds, and so forth.

 

[Randell]

Canopy I owe you an apology.

My old brain just doesn't seem to remember from one year to the next  these days. Of course your right there are certainly time in the Rai when the PM index is high and for more than just one day as I mistakenly suggested. When we have the unfortunate combination of winds during the burning season it can get downright uncomfortable and dangerous for those with bronchial weakness and the elderly. But i have found it clears quite regularly but is at the whim on the weather. So years better than other. I know some take a break and actually leave for a while. I stay and am careful when  I ride my MTB and walk every day  body permitting and have a good  particulate (90)mask during those times when nessesary. Any way I won't drag this out it had bothered me that I had totally blanked on what does happen in those months of the year. But for me it is certainly not a deal breaker. I have found my personal piece of heaven in my little valley and am here to stay. So please accept my apology for such a faulty memory .