‘Dust Boy’ warns Chiang Mai air still ‘code red’

[webfact]

‘Dust Boy’ warns Chiang Mai air still ‘code red’

By Chularat Saengpassa 
The Nation

 

Monks walks through smog in Mae Hong Son’s Muang district yesterday to collect morning alms.

 

Mae Hong Son Opts for controlled burning ahead of ban.

 

WITH HAZE continuing to choke many northern provinces yesterday, Chiang Mai University’s mobile “Dust Boy” monitors measured “code-red” levels of PM2.5 in several areas of the country’s second city. Code red covers levels above 90 micrograms per cubic metre of the most dangerous airborne particles.

 

A Dust Boy monitor in Muang district’s Nong Pa Khrang recorded 135mcg of PM2.5 and an Air Quality Index (AQI) level of 245 – far above the safe limit of 100.

 

Chang Klan showed 97mcg of PM2.5 and an AQI of 207. Chiang Mai University in tambon Mae Hia reported 83mcg of PM2.5 and an AQI of 190.

 

The Dust Boys are placed at various spots across the city to provide real-time air quality information at the website cmuccdc.org/pm25.

 

Yesterday’s daily update from the Pollution Control Department (PCD)’s website (air4thai.pcd.go.th) reported levels of PM2.5 in the North of between 32 and 86mcg. The peak was in Mae Mo, Lampang, where the air was polluted by 86mcg (AQI 190), followed by Phra Baht of Lampang’s Muang district and Wiang of Phayao’s Muang district, both at 83mcg (AQI 182).

 

The PCD readings are a 24-hour average so record lower levels of pollution than “real-time” monitors like the Dust Boys.

 

PCD reported that its four monitoring stations in Chiang Mai reported PM2.5 levels of 32-55mcg, with Chang Pheuk in Muang district reaching 55mcg.

 

 

Mae Hong Son suffers

 

Mae Hong Son, which has suffered five consecutive days of air pollution above the PM2.5 safe limit, yesterday reported a slightly improved figure at 51mcg (AQI 101). 

 

Mae Hong Son governor Sirirat Chamupakarn said local authorities were practising controlled burning to clear tinderbox areas, which would be replaced by a total ban on outdoor burning from March 1 to April 30. 

 

The governor said tourists continue to visit the province in large numbers despite the haze. Residents of Muang district have complained of eye irritation from particulate dust that has shrouded surrounding mountains in a grey veil. Many are asking why dust levels visible to the naked eye do not translate to a higher PM2.5 reading.

 

The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Centre Northern Region reports that the MODIS images produced by Nasa’s Terra satellite images showed particle dust blanketing eight northern provinces as of 10.37am yesterday.

 

Phayao

 

The centre said the haze was particularly dense over Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Phayao, Phrae and Nan.

 

Meanwhile, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency’s fire monitoring system (fire.gistda.or.th/) reported that a MODIS image on Monday had shown 160 hot spots in Thailand, with 53 locales in the nine northern provinces. It also showed 121 hot spots in Myanmar, 203 in Cambodia, 62 in Laos and 11 in Vietnam.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30364835

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-02-27

 

[AlexRich]

Great area of Thailand ... for six months of the year.

[DNPBC0]

There is no 'safe limit' for PM2.5, and repeated suggestions in the media that there is some threshold below which PM3.5 levels do not damage health are irresponsible.

 

[Prairieboy]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Chiang Mai air still ‘code red’

It creates beautiful, photogenic sunrises and sunsets!

[YetAnother]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The governor said tourists continue to visit the province in large numbers despite the haze.

obvious what he really cares about

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

A Dust Boy monitor in Muang district’s Nong Pa Khrang recorded 135mcg of PM2.5 and an Air Quality Index (AQI) level of 245 – far above the safe limit of 100.

 

This is an outright lie !!!!

THERE IS NO SAFE LIMIT FOR PM2.5

[unamazedloso]

Kanchanaburi is code red still. people dont realize its actually averaging about 70 pm2.5 here where i am all year round. I have my own moniters and dont relly on fake reports.

Many people have had enough and still authorities do nothing. In fact my family complained and we are now harassed. 

Fact: People have a right to protect their health. Its a form of self defense to beat the living shat out of these idiot fire starters. Ive hosed down fires and then people call the police on me but yep Im allowed to damage there property or what ever to protect my health and im a farang so i guess thats a lesson to all. Go start smacking heads for the good of thailand and the world. 

[sammieuk1]

Window check yes can confirm its truly shit????

[sharktooth]

35 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Window check yes can confirm its truly shit????

Agreed. It is <deleted> murder today!

[Thailand]

Controlled burning as opposed to uncontrolled, does that mean less pollution?

[spidermike007]

It is really quite astonishing how quickly the air quality in Thailand is degrading. Rather alarming. I know this is a bad time of year. But, does anyone remember it ever being this bad? I cannot remember a year that matched this one. Is this a trend? Is it just symbolic of how little is being done to address this? Is it the ever increasing number of diesel vehicles on the road, combined with diesel power plants, cane burning, and total neglect on the part of the army, and Prayuth? 

 

I am surprised at how often I walk outside, and it reeks of smoke. Thailand is moving backwards at a breath taking (no pun intended) and astonishing pace. There is virtually no doubt, that the quality of life here is diminishing. 

[davemos]

Perhaps they should delay the burn until the health hazard has passed ?

[Shaunduhpostman]

Mae Hong Son at 235 pm 2.5 as of 11:00 am today (http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/mae-hong-son/hongsonsuksa-school/)

 

Other places:

 

CMU Mae Hia CNX.....295 pm 2.5  @13:00pm; down from 322 pm 2.5 @ 11:00 am http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/cnx/cmu-mae-hia/

Chiang Rai...................159 pm 2.5   @15:00pm http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/chiangrai---gaia-station-01/

Khon Kaen..................152  pm 2.5   @14:00pm http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/khonkaen/

Ayutthaya....................151  pm 2.5   @14:00 pm http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/ayutthaya/ayutthaya-witthayalai-school/

Pai Hospital................158 pm 2.5 @ 14:00 pm http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/mae-hong-son/pai-hospital/

Pong Hsptl., Pha Yao 163 pm 2.5 @ 14:00 http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/phayao/pong-hospital/

Municipality Office, Nan 158 pm 2.5 @ 15:00 http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/nan/municipality-office/

 

World map with many sites reporting multiple times here: https://waqi.info/

 

 

 

 

 

[Berkshire]

Much improved this afternoon.  Pleasantly surprised.  Wondering if the 1 Mar non-burning law had any effect.  Anyways, we'll see in the coming days.