Air quality in Bangkok drops again

[webfact]

Air quality in capital drops again today

By Thai PBS

 

 

The Department of Pollution Control says air quality measurements at all five stations in Bangkok today showed the air quality was dropping while advising risk groups for sickness to stay indoors and wear hygiene mask while staying outdoors.

 

Warning of unhealthy level of air by the department came after latest measurements at 8.00am today at five stations, Rama IV, Intharapitak, Lard Prao, Phyathai, Bang Na and Wang Thong Larng showed average concentrations of PM2.5 at 51-84 micron per cubic metre, or over the safety levels at 50 micron per cubic metre.

 

The measurement also indicated rising unhealthy levels throughout the day, said Mrs Sunee Piyapanpong, director-general of the department.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/air-quality-capital-drops-today/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-02-15

[RotMahKid]

I don't know how they come to these figures if the rest around Bangkok has much higher numbers of PM2.5. You can't check it on the website, because Bangkok is greyed out. Censured? no of course not Bangkok Center is always healthy see the numbers the publish!

Edited February 15, 2018 by RotMahKid

[DNPBC0]

The numbers on the map are AQI (air qualiity index) units and not PM 2.5 concentrations in microns per cubic meter. To convert one to the oether use this calculator:
https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.calculator

For example,  a PM 2.5 concentration of 84 converts to an AQI of 166.

[DNPBC0]

The article mentions 'safety levels'. There is no generally accepted 'safe' concentration of PM 2.5.  Short and long term  health risks have been associated with very low concentrations of the pollutant.  Any is bad. However, different countries have adopted guidelines. The UN recommended guideline for PM 2-5 is 10 microns per cubic metre averaged over a year and 25 microns  per cubic metre averaged over 24 hrs.  In AQI units, these concentrations are 42 and 78, respectively.

[YetAnother]

9 hours ago, RotMahKid said:

I don't know how they come to these figures if the rest around Bangkok has much higher numbers of PM2.5. You can't check it on the website, because Bangkok is greyed out. Censured? no of course not Bangkok Center is always healthy see the numbers the publish!

typical thai accuracy and precision; do not trust Anything coming from any govt-sponsored institution here

[peperobi]

Whenever was the air quality from Bangkok good?

[Media1]

Not to worry polluting the country was part of the regime's master plan..So it's good lol

[eliotness]

So the rain-making spraying of clouds with a  chemical dust has't worked, In fact the pollution is getting worse.  Anyone suprised ?    Still, never mind, the rains will come in a couple of months or so and then everyone can worry about polluted floodwater and the rain making wizards can claim success.

[Maestro]

From the news article linked to in the OP:

 

Quote

...However the Thai pollution head said each country which used colours in telling how bad it’s air quality in air quality index would fix its own standard value to correspond with its basic information on economical and social conditions...

 

Is the director general of Thailand's Department of Pollution Control saying that in a country with bad economic and social conditions a high death rate from air pollution is more acceptable than in a country with better conditions?

 

Quote

 

She said standard value of both Thailand and the United States was different as Thailand fix average safety level of PM2.5 concentration throughout 24 hours at not over 50 microns, while the US fixed at 35 micron.

Therefore this could not be used to compare and judge the unhealthy level of air, she said.

 

 

Is she saying that the same level of PM2.5 is less unhealthy in Thailand than in the USA?

[Maestro]

AQI colors

EPA has assigned a specific color to each AQI category to make it easier for people to understand quickly whether air pollution is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities. For example, the color orange means that conditions are "unhealthy for sensitive groups," while red means that conditions may be "unhealthy for everyone," and so on.

 

Air Quality Index Levels of Health Concern	Numerical Value	Meaning
Good	0 to 50	Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
Moderate	51 to 100	Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	101 to 150	Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.
Unhealthy	151 to 200	Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
Very Unhealthy	201 to 300	Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects.
Hazardous	301 to 500	Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.
Note: Values above 500 are considered Beyond the AQI. Follow recommendations for the "Hazardous category." Additional information on reducing exposure to extremely high levels of particle pollution is available here.   Source: https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi

[Maestro]

 

 

The USA has air quality standards for PM, not safety levels:
 

Quote

 

...Since 1997, EPA has evaluated thousands of new studies on PM and, in September, 2006, EPA revised the PM standards by lowering the level of the 24-hour PM2.5 standard to 35 μg/m3 and retaining the level of the annual PM2.5 standard at 15 μg/m3...

 

On December 14, 2012, EPA finalized an update to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5. The annual standard was reduced from 15 μg/m3 to 12 μg/m3. The daily PM2.5 standard and standards for PM10 were retained. The revised 2012 PM standard became effective on March 18, 2013.

Source: https://www3.epa.gov/region1/airquality/pm-aq-standards.html

 

Quote

 

Nationally, average PM2.5 concentrations have decreased over the years. For information on PM standards, sources, health effects, and programs to reduce PM, please see www.epa.gov/pm-pollution .
How to Interpret the Graphs

 

Source: https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm25-trends

[JayBird]

On ‎2‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 2:18 PM, RotMahKid said:

I don't know how they come to these figures if the rest around Bangkok has much higher numbers of PM2.5. You can't check it on the website, because Bangkok is greyed out. Censured? no of course not Bangkok Center is always healthy see the numbers the publish!

It's not greyed out. The number was so high that it crashed and have an error.

[bsthai]

What do you guys use for protection? I found a new company recently that started locally that I really like, but would like to know what everyone else has found to work. 

[Bangkokazy]

Air quality in Thailand

den 17 Feb 2018