AQI 235 Near Don Mueng - is it enough to get you to move out of Bangkok?

[TonyClifton]

I just woke up.  Even though I only run air-conditioning in the bedroom at night, I never turn off my air purifier in my main condo room.  I let them run now 24/7.  This is enough to get me to leave Bangkok.  I can exercise safely outdoor but I have to walk through this pollution soup to do it.  

 

The question, is where to move?  Phuket? Can I find a decent English curriculum school that won't break the bank for my 12-year-old boy?  How do I send him to school on the 3rd if the numbers are so high?  To me, it seems that the only safe place in Thailand is one surrounded by water.  

 

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/bkk/saphan-khwai/

 

I tried uploading a screenshot but the forum software is still broken.  

 

 

 

 

[TonyClifton]

Hey mods, you'll notice multiple pictures, even though your software told me each one failed.

[metisdead]

10 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

Hey mods, you'll notice multiple pictures, even though your software told me each one failed.

 

Fixed it. 

[Crossy]

I wonder just how reliable these figures are. The rather suspicious "95" in the middle of the map is tagged as Provincial Health Office, Loei ????

 

I can actually see the Baiyoke Tower from the BTS admin building at Mo Chit, some days it's so thick you can barely see the far end of the depot.

 

[lopburi3]

8 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I wonder just how reliable these figures are. The rather suspicious "95" in the middle of the map is tagged as Provincial Health Office, Loei ????

 

I can actually see the Baiyoke Tower from the BTS admin building at Mo Chit, some days it's so thick you can barely see the far end of the depot.

 

I was thinking it was much clearer today as during dog walk could easily see the moon and did not appear to be anything in sky over Latphao at 0700 today.  But looking are readings find 152 at Chok Chai so all is not as it seems it seems.

[TonyClifton]

20 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

I was thinking it was much clearer today as during dog walk could easily see the moon and did not appear to be anything in sky over Latphao at 0700 today.  But looking are readings find 152 at Chok Chai so all is not as it seems it seems.

 

30 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I wonder just how reliable these figures are. The rather suspicious "95" in the middle of the map is tagged as Provincial Health Office, Loei ????

 

I can actually see the Baiyoke Tower from the BTS admin building at Mo Chit, some days it's so thick you can barely see the far end of the depot.

 

You can't see the 2.5-micron particles.  

[lopburi3]

But we are not talking about one - when there are many they indeed cause visible effects.

 

Quote

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant that is a concern for people's health when levels in air are high. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated. Outdoor PM2.5 levels are most likely to be elevated on days with little or no wind or air mixing. The New York State Departments of Health (DOH) and Environmental Conservation (DEC) alert the public by issuing a PM2.5 Health Advisory when PM2.5 concentrations in outdoor air are expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/pmq_a.htm

[TonyClifton]

2 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

But we are not talking about one - when there are many they indeed cause visible effects.

 

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/pmq_a.htm

I measure this visually as a pilot by how far I can see, or the visibility. I wake up early to find the visibility no more than 1.5 miles some days.  It seems to get better as the day progresses and then at night it builds again to a higher level.

 

Is the 2.5 usually seen by itself or in conjunction with other pollutants? 

 

The 11 AM readings are now predictably getting lower.

 

 

[TonyClifton]

I am still getting told by your software that my uploads fail.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

I wonder just how reliable these figures are. The rather suspicious "95" in the middle of the map is tagged as Provincial Health Office, Loei ????

 

I can actually see the Baiyoke Tower from the BTS admin building at Mo Chit, some days it's so thick you can barely see the far end of the depot.

 

 

I was out and around in central BKK today from about 9 am until noon, and it definitely FELT better outside, particular with at least a light breeze blowing....  So when I came home, I thought I'd check my sensor and other readings to see if that feeling was correct. And it was...

 

At my home in Central BKK when I came home about noon, the sensor in my unfiltered air living room read 45 mcg, which equals an AQI of 124, which is the middle of the orange range for unhealthy for sensitive people. And when I checked the official sensor at Chula Hospital in Silom, its latest 9 am reading was a pretty similar AQI of 119. (But I now see their newly posted 11 am reading is showing a higher 132 AQI, but still well out of the red category.)

 

So I know those pair of readings are reliable and they generally confirm each other. But what's mystifying are the range of other readings in outlying areas of BKK that still show much higher readings in the red range... And it's been like that often in recent days... The readings at my home and at Chula lower than other outlying areas.

 

PS - no one's spraying fire truck water in my neighborhood....

 

Edited December 26, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

17 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

 

I've noticed the Saphan Kwai sensor readings often have been VERY HIGH in the past week, and often much higher than any other individual sensor on the AQI.cn map for BKK. Not sure why that's the case.  Either the sensor is out of whack, or there's something going on in the vicinity of that particular sensor that's driving very high readings.

 

[TonyClifton]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I've noticed the Saphan Kwai sensor readings often have been VERY HIGH in the past week, and often much higher than any other individual sensor on the AQI.cn map for BKK. Not sure why that's the case.  Either the sensor is out of whack, or there's something going on in the vicinity of that particular sensor that's driving very high readings.

 

The sensor near Don Mueang agrees with it.  I am curious too, why this area seems more polluted than the rest of Bangkok.  There are, lots of highways in this area.  With that said, I have seen the pollution high on a Sunday when the roads are barely used.

Edited December 26, 2018 by TonyClifton

[lopburi3]

Can explain the Chok Chai as directly due to Skyway construction - it is on Latphao Road and that is almost a parking lot most days due blocked lanes.

[TonyClifton]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Can explain the Chok Chai as directly due to Skyway construction - it is on Latphao Road and that is almost a parking lot most days due blocked lanes.

The traffic on Sundays is negligible.  Yet the pollution gets high.  It's not the cars.  If not the cars, then what is it?

[lopburi3]

2 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

The traffic on Sundays is negligible.  Yet the pollution gets high.  It's not the cars.  If not the cars, then what is it?

Actually the traffic on Latphao Road is heavy every day as it is used to connect residents to shopping malls (which are indeed just as busy on weekends) and as an inner ring road.  Long holiday weekends is about the only time traffic is really light.

[TonyClifton]

From my Condo in Chatuchak, I can see several major highways including Ratchada where the current extension to the SkyTrain is being constructed.  

 

I can assure you that visually, Sundays are not busy at all.   There seems not to be a correlation between traffic and pollution in this area.

[lopburi3]

1 minute ago, TonyClifton said:

From my Condo in Chatuchak

The cause of the problem - all the new condo units and perhaps residents lighting up?  ????

Quote

Thailand approves medical marijuana

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

14 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Actually the traffic on Latphao Road is heavy every day as it is used to connect residents to shopping malls (which are indeed just as busy on weekends) and as an inner ring road.  Long holiday weekends is about the only time traffic is really light.

 

As of 11 am, the Chok Chai Police Station reading was 154 AQI, pretty similar to most of its surrounding sensors. But for some reason, the Saphan Khwai sensor reading once again is higher at 168 AQI as of its noon reading.  That appears to be the 2nd highest reading of any in the BKK area via the AQIcn.org portal, only behind a sensor south of Don Mueang reading 183 as of noon.

 

 

[TonyClifton]

Today Saphan Quai says 250.  

 

The airport monitor is about the same.  

[Nyezhov]

I wonder if the construction dust has anything to do with it. Coming in on the train from Ayyuthaya Christmas day (3rd class of course) it was mostly pleasant till just about near the airport. By the time we rolled past Bang Sue, I had to wear a bandanna bank robber style.

[lopburi3]

8 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

I wonder if the construction dust has anything to do with it. Coming in on the train from Ayyuthaya Christmas day (3rd class of course) it was mostly pleasant till just about near the airport. By the time we rolled past Bang Sue, I had to wear a bandanna bank robber style.

Construction dust is supposed to be controlled better these days with tarps covering buildings.  But ground level sites are not always that well protected.  Suspect a lack of wind may be a larger factor.  LA smog of decades ago.

[Nyezhov]

2 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Construction dust is supposed to be controlled better these days with tarps covering buildings.  But ground level sites are not always that well protected.  Suspect a lack of wind may be a larger factor.  LA smog of decades ago.

You cant cover the dust in excavation work or vehicles on unpaved surfaces. You need water trucks. And at Bang Sue, it was like riding a bulldozer

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, TonyClifton said:

Today Saphan Quai says 250.  

 

The airport monitor is about the same.  

 

I noticed that overnight / in the early morning hours... Quite a feat... two different BKK sensor locations reading 200+, meaning purple / very unhealthy on the AQI scale. That's a pretty rare occurrence even here.   It was Saphan Khwai (203) and the one up toward Don Mueang (211) as of the time of my screen capture below.

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[JimmyJ]

"AQI 235 Near Don Mueng - is it enough to get you to move out of Bangkok?"

 

I don't live in Bangkok, but would move out of anywhere that had readings like these.

[TonyClifton]

I feel like a prisoner in my own condo to this disgusting mess outside.  219 at Saphan Kwai.  I want to leave Bangkok before it can't be found in the air.

[TonyClifton]

FYI Mods, I only uploaded once and it told me it failed.

[TonyClifton]

Is Saphan Kwai on fire?  Or just malfunctioning?

[balo]

35 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

Is Saphan Kwai on fire?  Or just malfunctioning?

 

I don't know but you're talking about moving out of Bangkok , I live in Naklua, Pattaya area and I measure about the same pollution as in Bangkok right now.  

 

Today we had a new record 145 or 181 AQI, really bad smog in the whole area.  Moving near the sea and thinking it will be better will not work. 

I suggest you just wait and see , it will get better soon, it always does. 

 

 

 

 

[lopburi3]

10 minutes ago, balo said:

I suggest you just wait and see , it will get better soon, it always does. 

Yes indeed - Saphan Kwai only 227 at 9PM

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Something is amiss at Saphan Khwai -- either the sensor there is malfunctioning, or there's some activity going on in the immediate vicinity of the sensor that's leading to the consistently higher readings. In looking at the other readings from around BKK at 11 pm last night, clearly SK at 179 AQI is an outlier. The readings there aren't reflective of the general air quality situation in BKK for whatever reason. But it would be interesting to know exactly why...