Calls for schools in Chiang Mai to close as haze crisis worsens

By THE NATION

 

Lampang

 

WITH CHIANG MAI entering the global list for worst air pollution, calls are growing for schools and educational institutes in the northern province to close down temporarily for the sake of students.

 

 

“The Chiang Mai University [CMU], in particular, should suspend its classes until the situation improves. Not only will this save students, but it will also raise public awareness of the severity of smog,” the Legal Research and Development Centre of CMU’s Faculty of Laws said in a statement yesterday.

 

The statement was released after AirVisual, an internationally recognised platform for air-quality data, ranked Chiang Mai as the world’s third-most polluted city on Tuesday afternoon. The sky in Chiang Mai has been of brownish hue for several days now.

 

 

The Pollution Control Department (PCD) reported yesterday that the level of PM2.5 – airborne particulates of 2.5 microns or less in diameter – in Chiang Mai’s Muang district hovered at around 85-94 micrograms per cubic metre of air, well above the 50mcg safe limit. PM10 was at 114mcg to 123mcg, exceeding the 100mcg safe limit, and the Air Quality Index (AQI) ranged between 188mcg and 203mcg, double the 100mcg safety threshold.

 

CMU’s Legal Research and Development Centre said that in the face of such serious air pollution, government agencies should start handing out free protective masks to people.

 

The centre added that relevant authorities in Chiang Mai should also urgently draw up tangible long-term solutions for smog – which has been affecting the province for over a decade now.

 

“If those in power do not take action or show any responsibility, they should be transferred,” the centre declared.

 

Meanwhile, PCD said the amount of small dust particles in the North was very high yesterday mainly due to forest fires. There have been more than 1,000 hotspots in the North this past week.

 

Though haze in the northern province of Phrae appeared to have eased yesterday, it was still at a worrying level with PM2.5 per cubic metre of air recorded at 68mcg and its AQI at 141, down from 130mcg and 240 respectively. The haze was so bad on Tuesday that one aircraft was not able to land at Phrae Airport.

 

Smog also enveloped the nearby province of Nan for three consecutive days, as locals rushed to burn agricultural fires before authorities imposed a ban in their area.

 

In nearby Lampang, the smog was so bad that authorities vowed tough action against those lighting outdoor fires.

 

Nan

 

A strict ban has been imposed on outdoor fires in Lampang province from February 10 to April 10. In Nan, Phrae, Phayao and Chiang Rai provinces, the ban will run from tomorrow until April 15. As for Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son and Tak, the ban will run from March to April.

 

After about 10 days of respite, Bangkok and its adjacent provinces saw a return of the smog crisis yesterday.

 

Of the 43 areas where air-quality monitoring devices have been placed, 28 were found to have gone past the PM2.5 safe limit as of 3pm yesterday.

 

In the morning there were just two areas with unsafe levels of PM2.5, but by noon yesterday, the number of areas with unsafe levels of PM2.5 had risen to 14.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30364090

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-02-14

Quick, rush to burn everything we can before the ban. Inconsiderate <deleted>. I hope they burn themselves in the process. Not one bit of consideration for anyone especially the kids.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Smog also enveloped the nearby province of Nan for three consecutive days, as locals rushed to burn agricultural fires before authorities imposed a ban in their area.

This tells it all where the community mentality is at.....they would rather poison themselves and their kids as long as they get their fields and forests burned.....

 

there is really no hope w/o the ability to question their own actions and critically think of other viable options....

Interesting how CM can be on the worst pollution cities, and the best places to retire list at the same time.

Too many expats in Chiang Mai, too many Chinese tourists.

 

Like chemotherapy, a tough, but necessary, cure ?

 

~o;37;

What's the difference breathing in smoke at school or at home if schools closed down?

15 hours ago, webfact said:

in Chiang Mai’s Muang district hovered at around 85-94 micrograms per cubic metre of air, well above the 50mcg safe limit. PM10 was at 114mcg to 123mcg, exceeding the 100mcg safe limit

I am getting sick and <deleted!> tired of seeing/hearing this nonsense

THERE IS NO SAFE LIMIT !!!!

THESE ARE COMPLETE LIES FABRICATED BY THAILAND TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE THERE IS NO PROBLEM !!!!

(apologies for posting in caps)

Please read below for the truth:

World Health Organization.

The guideline stipulates that 

PM2.5 not exceed 10 μg/m3 annual mean, or 25 μg/m3 24-hour mean;  

PM10 not exceed 20 μg/m3 annual mean, or 50 μg/m3 24-hour mean.

 

And i repeat there is no safe limit of PM2.5 as any amount will enter your lungs, pass through the lung lining and into your bloodstream thus accessing every part of your body !!!

1 minute ago, marquis22 said:

What's the difference breathing in smoke at school or at home if schools closed down?

There is no difference other than students are not exposed to the pollution while traveling to or from school

The real benefit is if you look at the wider picture...

Schools or Universities closed create bad publicity, bad publicity attracts attention from the media, this might just bring enough pressure to bear on city officials to get off their <deleted> and do something more effective than spraying water in the air!!

Like get to the root causes & stop it from happening in the first place!!

So what'll happen in the long term, as this problem will go on for a long time, make the children illiterate? All we ever hear about is the short term actions.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The Chiang Mai University [CMU], in particular, should suspend its classes until the situation improves

Schools out forever.....

I think I will just cut this so I can use it next year, and the next, and the next

44 minutes ago, orang37 said:

Too many expats in Chiang Mai, too many Chinese tourists.

 

Like chemotherapy, a tough, but necessary, cure ?

 

~o;37;

Chemotherapy is not a cure. 

The government can stop this in a heart beat.  Here are a few suggestions:

a) Stop blowing useless water into the air and use the same resources to patrol for illegal fires.

b) Impose impartial monitoring of all crop purchases for burn marks

c) Impose monitoring of all farm lands for burning

d) Impose huge legal penalties including confiscation of land for any violators

e) Cut all sale of deisel vehicles in Thailand and phase out diesel completely.

f) Relocate all factories out of zoned urban areas.

 

The only problem is that these actions require accountability, foresight and intelligence.

 

42 minutes ago, marquis22 said:

What's the difference breathing in smoke at school or at home if schools closed down?

You don’t have to go outside to stay home

36 minutes ago, marquis22 said:

What's the difference breathing in smoke at school or at home if schools closed down?

 

31 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

There is no difference other than students are not exposed to the pollution while traveling to or from school

 

Well, at my place the muppets will be traveling back an forth just outside the house all day long  with their souped up mopeds without silencers. That's a BIG difference.

39 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

So what'll happen in the long term, as this problem will go on for a long time, make the children illiterate? All we ever hear about is the short term actions.

yes, it will 'go away soon' you just wait and see.

30 minutes ago, Jimbo2014 said:

The government can stop this in a heart beat.  Here are a few suggestions:

a) Stop blowing useless water into the air and use the same resources to patrol for illegal fires.

b) Impose impartial monitoring of all crop purchases for burn marks

c) Impose monitoring of all farm lands for burning

d) Impose huge legal penalties including confiscation of land for any violators

e) Cut all sale of deisel vehicles in Thailand and phase out diesel completely.

f) Relocate all factories out of zoned urban areas.

 

The only problem is that these actions require accountability, foresight and intelligence.

 

Ok, but sadly it’s pure utopia and not only for this country.

The whole of Thailand is covered in smog and litter. They destroy their own country in complete and utter ignorance. 

A good reason for a Valentine holiday!

You don’t have to go outside to stay home

And of course all Thai homes have top of the range air purifiers and are well sealed! So parents also need to take time off work to keep their kids inside all day?

Closing schools is a convenient but pointless reaction.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

1 hour ago, Jimbo2014 said:

The government can stop this in a heart beat.  Here are a few suggestions:

a) Stop blowing useless water into the air and use the same resources to patrol for illegal fires.

b) Impose impartial monitoring of all crop purchases for burn marks

c) Impose monitoring of all farm lands for burning

d) Impose huge legal penalties including confiscation of land for any violators

e) Cut all sale of deisel vehicles in Thailand and phase out diesel completely.

f) Relocate all factories out of zoned urban areas.

 

The only problem is that these actions require accountability, foresight and intelligence.

 

Re (e)

In Europe modern diesel vehicles to Euro 6 specifications are clean, it is all the old trucks and buses in Thailand that are the problem.  The same technology as Euro 6 is available worldwide.  In fact if you ran a Euro 6 diesel vehicle in Chiang Mai right now the air coming out of the exhaust is cleaner than the air entering the engine.

21 minutes ago, Mises said:

Re (e)

In Europe modern diesel vehicles to Euro 6 specifications are clean, it is all the old trucks and buses in Thailand that are the problem.  The same technology as Euro 6 is available worldwide.  In fact if you ran a Euro 6 diesel vehicle in Chiang Mai right now the air coming out of the exhaust is cleaner than the air entering the engine.

The problem is that vehicle maintenance and law enforcement in Thailand are weak and so if you allow diesel on the roads with the good intention of maintaining Euro 6 standards, soon you just have a whole ton of vehicles emitting diesel fumes.  Better to stop them entirely - or turn the country electric and thus concentrate pollution at the points of electricity production.

How will keeping the children from school help with the pollution problem or the children's health ? Are all their homes in "clean" areas of the city ?

Perhaps use this situation to teach about the harm that polluted air can have on health and teach about the causes and remedies for it.

3 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Interesting how CM can be on the worst pollution cities, and the best places to retire list at the same time.

Easy ,Two different lots of people doing the surveys.   

1 hour ago, 5633572526 said:

You don’t have to go outside to stay home

And you think the air is better inside than out?

3 hours ago, orang37 said:

Too many expats in Chiang Mai, too many Chinese tourists.

 

Like chemotherapy, a tough, but necessary, cure ?

 

~o;37;

Methinks you might wanna do some research on chemotherapy.

2 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

So what'll happen in the long term, as this problem will go on for a long time, make the children illiterate? All we ever hear about is the short term actions.

Already illiterate

3 hours ago, orang37 said:

Too many expats in Chiang Mai, too many Chinese tourists.

 

Like chemotherapy, a tough, but necessary, cure ?

 

~o;37;

Have you tried Chemo?

Its not as bad today I can see the house across the road through the window ????

36 minutes ago, Jimbo2014 said:

The problem is that vehicle maintenance and law enforcement in Thailand are weak

NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE! There is NO vehicle maintenance in Thailand, not as far as commercial vehicles are concerned anyway. I have witnessed this for too many years. They just run the damn machines until they fail/quit. THEN they maintain/repair them. Ane when when did you ever see any law enforcement ANYWHERE in Thailand, except for when a cop needs some extra money for one of his ladies, or to buy a new bike?