Health Advisory

[yabs]

khunmarco

where is that pic?

[lannarebirth]

For the first time in weeks I actually got a glimps of the mountains this evening, as a very murky sun was setting at six o'clock.

For the first time in weeks, I did not see a single fire burning anywhere I went today. I'm hopeful.

[lannarebirth]

Taken from the B.Post @ 14.22

Quote:-

North to hasten Songkran to fight haze

(BangkokPost.com) - Chiang Mai Municipality plans to bring forward the annual Songkran celebration two weeks earlier with the hope that the water splashing festival would reduce haze and dust particles in the northern provinces.

Chiang Mai governor Boonlert Buranupakorn said the haze-fighting idea came upon him after the municipality effectively used water trucks to increase dampness and reduce dust particles on Wednesday. This prompted him to hasten the Songkran celebration - from April 13 to April 1.

Unquote.

Go to the url for the full article please.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=117447

Apologies if it,s posted elsewhere.

I hope things clear up soon for you all in the effected area,s.

marshbags

Someone should be apologizing for this daft idea seeking the light of day, but it's not you.

[p1p]

This is just in from ede news centre A very interesting Environmental web site.

Emergency declared as Thai haze thickens (14 March 2007)

Smoke haze in northern Thailand has become so bad that a state of emergency has been declared by officials and flights to the popular tourist destination have been cancelled due to poor visibility.

The country's second city, Chiang Mai, is at the heart of the haze which has been caused by fires in Thailand itself and its neighbours Laos and Myanmar.

The public have been urged by the government to water the land and streets in the hopes that the humidity which will follow will bring rain to put out the fires and cut through the smog.

The government is now considering asking people to bring forward their celebrations of the Thai new year, not due until mid April, as one of the traditions of the festival is to spray each other with water.

Environment officials monitoring the situation say that while the haze tends to be an annual event, this year's is far beyond the normal density and is the worst for over a decade.

Unseasonably cold weather is cooling the smoke and preventing it from rising out of the region's valleys.

Chiang Mai is the major tourist hub for northern Thailand, popular with backpackers and those looking for adventure holidays.

Tourism is, however, on hold as travel into the region has been restricted.

People have been advised to stay indoors when possible to avoid the worst effects of the smoke and residents have complained of eye and throat irritation.

South East Asia is plagued by smoke haze as poor farmers in less developed areas continue to practice slash and burn agriculture, deliberately torching vast swathes of forest in order to clear land for their crops and livestock.

Recently states in the region have begun to move beyond the blame game and look at ways in which a co-ordinated response might be able to reduce the problem.

The wealthier states in the region have offered fire-fighting equipment and training as well as pledging to provide some of the funding required to help their neighbours tackle the recurring smog.

[Maejo Man]

Light at the end of the tunnel or a brief respite?

I think it has been better today but that's not saying much

I'm not holding my breath, but I could see for over a kilometre today, instead of a few hundred metres. Here's hoping!

[Cyberstar]

From my viewpoint - near Chedi Luang - Doi Suthep has stood out clearly, all day, as a much darker shade of grey than that of the sky. That shade of grey suggests that tomorrows number from PCD will be in the range of 140-170 - so yes, things are better... Saw a satelite photo from yesterday, someone else had linked to in a thread - very few of the large forest fires.

[WaiWai]

Recently states in the region have begun to move beyond the blame game and look at ways in which a co-ordinated response might be able to reduce the problem.

Cough, splutter, cough ...

[KhunMarco]

khunmarco

where is that pic?

I got you interested uh? That's a little island south of Koh Lanta, I'm sorry I don't remember the name, it's

nearly in Malaysian waters. Only rangers and a family of Monitor Lizards. If you go to Koh Lanta they can surely tell you the name, there are a few speed boats every day (highly recommended)

But if you were impressed by the water, I can tell you Koh Poda (15 minutes long tail boat from Ao Nang -Krabi) is just great. Well look below and enjoy

You gotta love the Thais swimming dressed

[tigerbeer]

I got you interested uh? That's a little island south of Koh Lanta, I'm sorry I don't remember the name, it's

nearly in Malaysian waters. Only rangers and a family of Monitor Lizards. If you go to Koh Lanta they can surely tell you the name, there are a few speed boats every day (highly recommended)

that would be ko tarutao? off Satun. just north of langkawi island.

[silverhawk_usa]

Taken from the B.Post @ 14.22

Quote:-

North to hasten Songkran to fight haze

(BangkokPost.com) - Chiang Mai Municipality plans to bring forward the annual Songkran celebration two weeks earlier with the hope that the water splashing festival would reduce haze and dust particles in the northern provinces.

Chiang Mai governor Boonlert Buranupakorn said the haze-fighting idea came upon him after the municipality effectively used water trucks to increase dampness and reduce dust particles on Wednesday. This prompted him to hasten the Songkran celebration - from April 13 to April 1.

Unquote.

Go to the url for the full article please.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=117447

Apologies if it,s posted elsewhere.

I hope things clear up soon for you all in the effected area,s.

marshbags

I see the BKK Post is getting the scoop on April fool's day this year

This is the same guy that suggests;

The mayor of Chiang Mai municipality said the city is urging residents to spray water into the air by hoses to reduce dust particles and to increase moisture in the atmosphere.

The municipality is turning on fountains around the city, at historic moats and at other sites.

Truly scientifically based solutions to the problems

[KhunMarco]

that would be ko tarutao? off Satun. just north of langkawi island.

Yes, it is one of the islands of the national park, I think it was Koh Khai. Snorkeling was great, I even took a picture of a sea turtle. Marvelous

I promise I quit hijacking this thread , I ve been a bit carried away by good memories

[ThaiPauly]

I'm not holding my breath,

You should be MM...I am holding mine as long as possible

I went to the bedroom at 10pm to try to sleep..only to erupt in a coughing fit that had my eyes watering as the maid had had the bedroom windows open to clean today.

I have had to put the air purifier in there for an hour or so before I dare venture back in.

[Kaysfeld]

And there is alot the Thais can do to fix it.

So you saying the Thai government somehow has control over forest fires in Myanmar's Shan state?

No. But they should have control over the fires started in Thailand, by locals.

They say that much of the reason for the smog is that there isn't enough wind to blow it away.

How can they then say that it was blown in from Burma and Laos?

Some smog may come from there, but a lot of burning is going on in Thailand too.

[p1p]

Thai solution...

Easy answer.

Want wild?

Build a BIG fire!

They always cause wind!

[cdnvic]

I'm waiting for some official to start urging people to wave their newspapers around so the wind will blow the smog away.

[Maejo Man]

I'm not holding my breath,

You should be MM...I am holding mine as long as possible

I tried that mate, but my face started to turn blue I do actually think there is a slight improvement today. I can actually see the outline of Doi Suthep, and if I'm not mistaken, the sky has a rather bluish tinge to it, the sun is also shining!

[tigerbeer]

I'm waiting for some official to start urging people to wave their newspapers around so the wind will blow the smog away.

[chanchao]

> I can tell you Koh Poda (15 minutes long tail boat from Ao Nang -Krabi) is just great.

Is there accommodation on that island too, or is it strictly an island hopping & beach thing?

[lannarebirth]

This drop in the daily count goes a long way to confirm my view that it is the LOCAL fires that add the most to the pollution. No local fires that I could find yesterday, hence IMO the lower count. That's encouraging, because the local fires are the easiest to act against, assuming there's a will to do so.

http://www.pcd.go.th/AirQuality/Regional/G...?task=graphsite

[Larry]

My measure of the serious of the haze at this time of year is a very simple one. If I see Doi Suthep from my home in Moo Ban Nantawan, just off of Niemenhaemin, it's not that bad. Yesterday, the mountain reappeared, after about eight days of no-show, but now it's gone completely again. Why do I keep hearing the Donovan song "First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is" in my head again and again?

[Robroy]

I have a few friends who are travelling Thailand right now and are wanting to travel to Chiang Mei at the end of this month.

Will the pollution pass by then? How long do these fires usually go for?

Someone has reposted my post on this, but left out the crucial part.

I can't find my original of this post right now (I've just fled Chiang Mai, for obvious reasons, and am still on the road) but in essence what I said was that, yes, the air does go back to normal on average late March/early April.

HOWEVER in the only other disastrously high-pollution year - 1999 - it stayed at dangerous levels till late June.

This year is the first year since then that pollutants have been at 1999 levels. Therefore it is entirely possible that levels of the lethal <PM10s and the general air pollutants may stay at dangerous levels for another three months.

No-one knows what will happen. The levels may fall to tolerable levels in 1 to 3 weeks from now, in line with the "average year" scenario. However in my opinion because this is anything but an average year, that is not our model right now. Our model for what is happening now is 1999 - and in that year the pollutants stayed at "above safe maximum" levels till early June, and at very close to that level (~110 for the <PM10s) till late June.

Though no-one can predict the future, we can talk about probabilities - and that is more likely to be the 2007 scenario IMO.

I wish I had better news.

[toptuan]

You should probably warn your friends that it's gotten so bad that foreign governments are now warning their citizens about hazards of traveling in the region: link

[engrin]

Thanks for all the not-so-wonderful news everyone. Never new about all this till now!

[yabs]

chanchao

its great for one reason

there is no resort there

as soon as they start to build its countdown to doomsday

[Robroy]

Greetings from Krabi. Been here 36 hours.

My eyes stopped hurting almost as soon as I got on the plane, my coughing stopped by about BKK airport, and my sneezing has just about stopped now.

Nice to get a sea breeze and to be able to see the scenery beyond the end of one's driveway.

From the plane, the haze appears to be over the whole of northern Thailand - tho glad to hear that CM levels have fallen today.

However I must repeat what I wrote in an earlier post in this thread: the only year comparable to this one in smog severity is 1999. And in 1999 pollution levels did not fall below "safe maximums" till early June, and not convincingly below them till late June.

Anything could happen - weather is a chaotic system, not a linear one. However I would be inclined to take 1999 as my model for 2007, not the "average year" of late (where pollutant levels fall below dangerous late March/early April).

This is nothing like an "average year" to date; and IMO is more likely to mimic 1999 than not.

That would mean another three months of on-off levels above safe maximums. I.e. another 3 months of what you're experiencing now. Chiang Mai-ers have already endured 14 straight days of <PM10 levels above the safe maximum of 120, so it may even be more 'on' than 'off'.

I'm not trying to be alarmist: this has happened before and there is a reasonable probability -tho not a certainty - that it will happen again.

[meadish_sweetball]

On the positive side, in CM proper it looks slightly clearer today than yesterday, and a lot clearer than 3 days ago.

[Bananaman]

On the positive side, in CM proper it looks slightly clearer today than yesterday, and a lot clearer than 3 days ago.

Clarity is relative; the bodywork on my Honda Dream is clearer after its once-annual wipe over with a dirty rag

[Crow Boy]

I've got about as strong a constitution as anyone I've ever met, but this smoke is starting to get to me. Headaches fotr 2 days now. Somebody, do a rain dance.

I'm a fat, arthritic, old fart and the air in Chiang Mai right now doesn't bother me a bit.

I am overweight but not so fat old fart too and yesterday I still went for my run down the highway - apparently I inhaled the equivalent of 5 packets of cigarettes as a result. The window to my office is open and yes there is a lot of dust in the air but if yu think this is bad try working in China, Los Angeles, or Sydney.

I figure when I start to cough up bits of clay then it is time to start worrying

[marshbags]

Latest...Breaking News via B.Post at 16.24 today.

Quote:-

Masks provided to villagers in North

The ministry of public health has sent another 300,000 gauze masks to eight northern provinces suffering from haze pollution.

Provincial health authorities estimate that as many as two-thirds of local residents now have respiratory complaints, serious allergies and colds.

Deputy Public Health Minister Morakot Kornkasem led a team to visit patients with respiratory illnesses in hospitals in Lampang, Chiang Rai, and Phayao on Friday.

He said that the North's average level of the air pollution is still higher than the maximum permitted by health standards, and more patients come daily to receive medical treatment at the region's hospitals.

Unquote.

Please go to the following url for the full article:-

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=117471

Stay indoors if at all possible, and please don,t run in it all, you fitness fanatics, as someone has mentioned doing already.

Put a piece of cloth to your mouth if you do not have a proper mask if you feel uncomfortable, breathing wise, for a filter.

( making sure you can breath through it, of course. )

Apologies if it,s posted elsewhere and duplicated.

marshbags

[WaiWai]

Why do I keep hearing the Donovan song "First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is" in my head again and again?

Because my evil self mentioned it in one of these threads ...

but you have won first prize : a week's holiday in Chiang Mai !

Second prize : two weeks' holiday in Chiang Mai ...

and ... well. third prize is best not mentioned.