Chiang Mai- The Ignored Toxic Wasteland

[LomSak27]

1 hour ago, johnnykak said:

i like the one american guy- yea its been this way for years- no big deal- ill head to the aegean if it gets too bad lol. yea worst air quality in the world- that must be fake news right? what about the people that actually live in this area? this is a problem that needs attention not the ooo its not rally happening or so what it doesn't affect me. 

where you living Johnny ... You are in Thailand right?   or well maybe not, we have so many visitors these days.

Edited March 13, 2019 by LomSak27

[dcnx]

To be blunt, it is irresponsible for any parent to raise their child here. You are aware of the health hazards and how harmful the air is to children. 

[watgate]

Besides the burning season which we know is very bad for one's health, how is it in chiang mai the rest of the year what with all the songtaews and tuk-tuks and assorted other vehicles spewing their foul exhaust into the city and surrounding area? Any idea how the air would be in chiang mai during this time of the year versus living in the pattaya, jomtien, chonburi area?  Would the air be comparable or since chiang mai has so many tuk-tuks and songtaews racing around on a daily basis in chiang mai the air would be worse there? Does anyone have any first hand info?

[tlandtday]

18 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Over the long term it can reduce your entire families lifespan.

If I were you I would find another place.

Even Pattaya air is great compared to here.

Pattaya air is no better for most of the year.  Pattaya has an incredible amount of factory pollution from nearby factories Bangkok and Rayong as well as traffic.  This will only get worse nationwide.  If they haven't tackled trash removal in decades of tourism do you actually think they will tackle factory and auto emissions as well as burning?

Edited March 13, 2019 by tlandtday

[tlandtday]

6 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

5 years ago I did a 'beauty contest' of places we wanted our retirement condo my wife and I looked at CM, Hua Hin, Bangkok, Hat Yai (she is from the south), Pattaya and Jomtiem. Affordability, quality of life, close to transport hubs and ease of getting around without a car or motorbike were the key drivers. 2 weeks in CM did our heads in, red-eyes, constant cough and dirty phlegm were dead giveaways and sadly because there were many things we loved about CM - air quality meant it was off the list. In the end we chose Jomtiem and have never been happier.  Prices are cheap here as well and 10 baht buses a huge bonus.  Surprised more digital-nomads haven't set up shop here either. As a cynic one can almost believe the 'government' would happily let the Thaksin heartland choke to death, rather than make inroads into the problem. If you can move I would move before it seriously starts to affect the health of yourself and your loved ones. 

Are you kidding?  The who standard for air quality is 20 parts not 50 as designated in Thailand.  Pattaya exceeds these limits often and Jomtien is no exception.  Just curious how could Jomtien win a "beauty contest" it is an often dirty beach with poor foliage as they have leveled most of the trees to put up concrete.

Edited March 13, 2019 by tlandtday

[beautifulthailand99]

37 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

Are you kidding?  The who standard for air quality is 20 parts not 50 as designated in Thailand.  Pattaya exceeds these limits often and Jomtien is no exception.  Just curious how could Jomtien win a "beauty contest" it is an often dirty beach with poor foliage as they have leveled most of the trees to put up concrete.

If my wife wasn't Thai the whole country would be off my list. Like I say we visited and spent several weeks in each of those places before deciding on a high floor second-hand condo in a well looked after block in Jomtiem. The and the air feels pretty fresh as we face towards Bang Saray from Jomtien.  It's all relative but at least the air over the sea is as fresh as you get here. I swim in the pool and not the beach. 

[Pravda]

There is some good news here. A lot of Digital Nomads must be choking to death.

 

Glass half full and all that

[jaiyen]

LOS =  LAND OF SMOKE

[Formaleins]

Whilst Chiang Mai air is quite sick at the minute it is not as bad as a few years back, no excuse though. However, there is more going on than

 just the North of Thailand. A lot of Asia, especially India spends weeks around this time of the year burning off stubble. Thailand has been guilty of the same issues. They are also however a bit at the mercy of the winds. A lot of this smog is from outside of Thailand - Thais as we know would NEVER do anything like this.

[Samuel Smith]

15 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

Whilst Chiang Mai air is quite sick at the minute it is not as bad as a few years back, no excuse though. However, there is more going on than

 just the North of Thailand. A lot of Asia, especially India spends weeks around this time of the year burning off stubble. Thailand has been guilty of the same issues. They are also however a bit at the mercy of the winds. A lot of this smog is from outside of Thailand - Thais as we know would NEVER do anything like this.

Wind, when we have it, is from south.  Lamphun & Lampang, where there are a lot of forest fires.

[emptypockets]

10 hours ago, soalbundy said:

I live about 30 km outside Surin which according to airvisual is brown on the scale and yet the air seems crystal clear and fresh to breath, no haze, no smell. There is even spanish moss  (I think that is what it is called) growing and hanging from some very large trees on the temple grounds which I believe only grows where the air is good.

I'm about 40k from Surin. All good here too. 

[THAIJAMES]

5 hours ago, watgate said:

Besides the burning season which we know is very bad for one's health, how is it in chiang mai the rest of the year what with all the songtaews and tuk-tuks and assorted other vehicles spewing their foul exhaust into the city and surrounding area? Any idea how the air would be in chiang mai during this time of the year versus living in the pattaya, jomtien, chonburi area?  Would the air be comparable or since chiang mai has so many tuk-tuks and songtaews racing around on a daily basis in chiang mai the air would be worse there? Does anyone have any first hand info?

if you are in traffic basically the air is really bad all the time.  I have measured it and its about 150-250 PM 2.5.   Most modern cars have air filters.  Mine cuts pollution by more than half.

 

Even in the rainy season, if there is an inversion layer pollution can get trapped in Chiang mai and polution has reached to 80-100 PM 2.5.   However from may until late jan it is usually not too bad but not as good as most places in Europe and America.

 

Of course if you live in the center of the city, you are going to get a lot of the traffic pollution.

 

The key is keeping your overall exposure to pollution down.  You can't do that unless you can measure it and then filter it.  Get an air filter with a PM 2.5 sensor.  Or even better get one of those portable sensors so that you can measure the areas that you frequent.

 

Indoor does not protect you if it is not filtered.  These particles can easily get through anything.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by THAIJAMES

[emptypockets]

9 hours ago, lucky2008 said:

I think the color you meant to say is orange, and yes in this case you probably don't notice anything, but best believe the danger is out there. 

 

The most harmful pollution consists of small particulate matter, 2.5 microns in size or less, called PM2.5. These particles are small enough to work their way deep into the lungs and into the bloodstream, where they trigger heart attack, stroke, lung cancer and asthma. 

 

Look at it like this: one cigarette per day is the rough equivalent of a PM2.5 level of 22 μg/m3. Double that level, and it is equivalent to 2 cigarettes per day.

 

CM is currently reporting around 160 μg/m3. This is the equilvilant to 7 cigarettes per day. 

 

It's clear to me now why Chiang Mai has the highest lung cancer mortality rate in the country. 

 

I filter all my air......... Through Krong Thips

[emptypockets]

9 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

I dunno what you're on about?

 

Most of the people in the area are no doubt proud of this achievement. Thailand number 1.

A lot of the CM farang are more worried how they will scrape up the funds to pay an agent to fix their visa come extension time. An overseas holiday wouldn't even be on their horizon. 

[emptypockets]

7 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

where you living Johnny ... You are in Thailand right?   or well maybe not, we have so many visitors these days.

Are you a Thai citizen?  If not then you too are a visitor. You may be able to stay for a year at a time but still a visitor nevertheless.  Just like the rest of us. That permission to stay may be revoked at the stroke of a pen. 

The claims that Thailand is my home is just desperate rhetoric in the end. 

[emptypockets]

6 hours ago, dcnx said:

To be blunt, it is irresponsible for any parent to raise their child here. You are aware of the health hazards and how harmful the air is to children. 

It is irresponsible for ageing foreign men to breed at all.  End of. 

[BritManToo]

27 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

It is irresponsible for ageing foreign men to breed at all.  End of. 

I your case you were right.

[eyecatcher]

Yesterday I renewed my bike tax and insurance and had to pay 60bt for an emissions test.

.....and the point of that is? 

[ammagic]

The air quality in Chiang Mai is abysmal.  I lived there for a decade and it became worse with each passing year.  I expect nothing to change.  Finally, when I started to develop asthma..after a terrible burning season about 3 years ago, I gave up and moved to Hua Hin.  Best decision I have made in a long time.  No more headaches, sinus issues or asthma.....I can breathe the air.  I do miss aspects of CM, but absolutely not the air quality.  And I expect nothing to change in the future.  Sad really, CM is a great city, but such dreadful air

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

When I was in CM a few years back I always assumed it was just country people burning forest. Now I am back in California and researching the fires here. A lot of these fires are not natural and many clues point to the NWO rising one world govt as the culprit. Research DEW's. Directed Energy Weapons. 

[UPDEHSOI]

On 3/12/2019 at 9:45 AM, lucky2008 said:

I agree. Like one of the posters said if you really don't have anything keeping you here might as well leave. 

Yup. I'm so lucky in that respect. No wife, no kids. After more than twenty years I packed my toothbrush and left. Might return some September for a short visit...maybe not

[lucky2008]

Chiang Mai University has suspended classes and closed outdoor zones for two days from today.

 

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by lucky2008

[LomSak27]

12 hours ago, emptypockets said:

19 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

where you living Johnny ... You are in Thailand right?   or well maybe not, we have so many visitors these days.

Are you a Thai citizen?  If not then you too are a visitor. You may be able to stay for a year at a time but still a visitor nevertheless.  Just like the rest of us. That permission to stay may be revoked at the stroke of a pen. 

The claims that Thailand is my home is just desperate rhetoric in the end. 

 

Empty, my question remains is he lving here? That has nothing to do whether he is a Thai  citizen or not, or if am I Thai citizen or not. Or if you are a Thai citizen or not. No it means exactly what it says, "are you living in the country at present, and if so where".

 

Good attempt at sidetracking with a tangent but I was asking, does he live here. Does he spend time in Thailand? Or in Chinag Mai? Sorry to be pedantic but it is so easy to lose the gist of the question, while busy deflecting, No need to thank me, it happens all the time.   

[Pravda]

On 3/13/2019 at 7:08 PM, emptypockets said:

It is irresponsible for ageing foreign men to breed at all.  End of. 

 

I can't breathe

[puukao]

Why would you knowingly KILL your kids if you can let them have a chance for normal lungs????  Selfish people.  Of course it will 100% affect their health forever, but you can google some study that says it might not.

 

being in CM from Feb. to May is suicide.  We all know it, but most are broke and cannot afford good air.  and too lazy to move because of the beer and women.

 

left CM in late-January because i have a brain.  

 

unless you are reading this in prison, get out.  if not, then cry about your health problems later in life so we can all laugh

[NCC1701A]

Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only toxic wasteland

Boom Boom take my hand
We'll travel south cross land
Put out the fire
And don't look past my shoulder
The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let's get together, before we get much older

Toxic wasteland
It's only toxic wasteland
Toxic wasteland
Oh yeah, toxic wasteland
They're all wasted!

[Trujillo]

First off, CM is not a "ignored toxic wasteland." Have you been watching too much CNN? Is rank overstatement and outright lying an acceptable form for a thread title? 

 

Second, if you post material in Thai, as the above letter, it should be translated too. Do the work. 

[SoilSpoil]

2 hours ago, Trujillo said:

First off, CM is not a "ignored toxic wasteland." Have you been watching too much CNN? Is rank overstatement and outright lying an acceptable form for a thread title? 

 

Second, if you post material in Thai, as the above letter, it should be translated too. Do the work. 

The smog is toxi,  indeed ignored, and making CM a future wasteland. So pretty spot on.