Health Advisory

[cdnvic]

Yep, good idea with the facemasks Cyberstar and I don't think that the thin cotton ones would be too sweaty and are available from HomePro.

Except against diesel soot, the fabric and paper masks are useless (except for appearances sake). Minimum you would want is a filter rated for organic hydrocarbons and vapours, otherwise the exaust gases just flow through them.

The sinus issues can be dealt with often with proper paper or fibre filters as well as HEPA filters in your home air cleaners.

[KhunDennis]

There is so much smoke in the air, my eyes were burning inside my house. I was watching a fellow working in his rice fields next door, using one of those back pack sprayers. The only protective device he had were rubber boots. Between the smoke and chemicals he was spraying, he sounded like he was coughing his guts out.

You would think someone in the government would step up and address this issue . Maybe if all the tour buses would arive in Chiang Mai empty for a while, it would send them a message. Do you think ?

]

[PeaceBlondie]

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

I resemble that remark, except for the arthritis. I've always had great lung capacity, perhaps because I never smoked (cigarettes).

[Ulysses G.]

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

I've always had great lung capacity, perhaps because I never smoked (cigarettes).

Me either - other than a little wacky tobacky way back when. Maybe that's the secret?

[chanchao]

On the plus side, all of it clears up instantly at the first rain showers.

I honestly wonder if the sources are local (as in, Chiang Mai city or even Chiang Mai / Ping River valley). It seems the lot of Northern and North Eastern Thailand suffers from it, could it just be weather/haze coming from elsewhere? If that's the case then it's not solvable, which would be a worry.

If it IS local, then we could just have a War on Burning Stuff. (Assuming we'll get a decisive government back one day). "Burn your land == lose your land."

Cheers,

Chanchao

[PeaceBlondie]

Yes, I assume that active smokers have inhaled far more tons of nicotine and other dastardly fumes directly into their lungs, than we passive folks. At the swimming pool for the last twenty years, I have breath-holding contests with teenagers. Only once has a cigarette smoker held his breath longer than I can, at several times his age.

Do we have any pulmonary physiologists or any lung surgeons here? The ones I knew 45 years ago may have breathed their last breath by now.

[rcjoop]

A lot of discussion is always going on about air pollution in the Chiang Mai region, but so far I have not seen any numbers attached to it.

Does anyone have pointers to real measurement data as a quick search I did, did not come with anything usefull.

Joop

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

On the plus side, all of it clears up instantly at the first rain showers.

I honestly wonder if the sources are local (as in, Chiang Mai city or even Chiang Mai / Ping River valley). It seems the lot of Northern and North Eastern Thailand suffers from it, could it just be weather/haze coming from elsewhere? If that's the case then it's not solvable, which would be a worry.

If it IS local, then we could just have a War on Burning Stuff. (Assuming we'll get a decisive government back one day). "Burn your land == lose your land."

Cheers,

Chanchao

Yes i can't wait for the rains. When did it rain last year? wasn't it almost May? Thats a long time from now.

[p1p]

A lot of discussion is always going on about air pollution in the Chiang Mai region, but so far I have not seen any numbers attached to it.

Does anyone have pointers to real measurement data as a quick search I did, did not come with anything usefull.

Joop

Go to the Ministry of Natural Resoiurces and Environment - Pollution Control Department website. There is all kinds of information here.

According to that site the Particulate Matter<10 microns currently carried in Chiang Mai air measures something like 200 or so ug/m3. WAY high.

For those unsure of the meaning of this number, a proximate breakdown of the Particule Pollution Health Hazards is as follows:

0 - 50 Good

51 - 100 Moderate

101 - 150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups People with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, and children should limit outdoor or prolonged exertion.

151 - 200 Unhealthy People with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, and children should avoid outdoor or prolonged exertion; everyone else should limit prolonged exertion.

201 - 300 Very Unhealthy People with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, and children should avoid any outdoor activity; everyone else should avoid prolonged exertion.

301 - 500 Hazardous Everyone should avoid any outdoor exertion; people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, and children should remain indoors.

[mongoose]

When did it rain last year? wasn't it almost May?

Think it was a bit before Sonkran about mid April.

[toptuan]

I remember this same discussion on TV a year ago. Sounds much worse this year. With school just out, I just changed my Chiang Mai vacation plans to some place with trade winds. Thanks for the warnings.

[sabaijai]

Last year, CM was the most polluted city in SE Asia

Any stats to back that up?

and far more polluted than Calcutta.

It's difficult to find measurements but according to the Clean Air Initiative for Asia Cities, Hanoi, Kolkata and Jakarta all have pollution levels roughly four times worse than Bangkok. New Delhi is substantially worse than all of these.

I've been to Kolkata/Calcutta recently and it looked/felt subjectively worse, in the dry season at least, than Chiang Mai the same time of year. According to UNEP, Kolkata's annual mean for suspended particulate matter is 393ug/m3, far above the statistic p1p cites, which is a dry season count as well.

Chiang Mai appears to lose out to Jakarta (271ug/m3 annual mean, according to UNEP) as well. I found this at CNRS:

A 12 month study of urban concentrations of total suspended particulates (TSP) and 20 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was carried out in Seoul (South Korea), Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Melbourne (Australia). Concentrations of particulate matter in the atmosphere varied widely between the cities over the course of the study, ranging from a low of 24.1 μg/m[3] in Melbourne during the winter to a high of 376.2 μg/m[3] in Jakarta during the dry season.

What about Ho Chi Minh City? It makes UNEP's list of the most dangerously polluted cities in Asia, while Chiang Mai does not. Surabaya does not fare well statistically either.

I'm sure we all agree that CM's air quality should be improved but I don't think it helps make the case to exaggerate.

[Ned]

Today(Monday) much worse than yesterday. 5pm, the sun's a red ball and it's getting dark. Locals are sweeping up leaves and grass (brown or green....doesn't matter) and are preparing the daily evening bonfires. Soon the village will be shrouded in acrid smoke from smouldering garbage, leaves and plastic like every other day. When the hills are set ablaze at this time of year it only makes a bad situation much worse and hazardous for health. Once it gets dark that rubbish which isn't incinerated will be gathered in plastic bags loaded onto motorcycle trailers ,driven to one of the bridges crossing the Ping River and flung down into the pig and human shit filled water. It costs 200 baht to have your septic tank pumped out so much cheaper to pump the sewage into the nearest canal or creek which will take it to the majestic Ping.

What a filthy dump this is but it's where my wife grew up and we've got our house. Don't know for how long though with pollution only going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. Just how bad things have got to get before anything is done is anyone's guess.

[p1p]

When did it rain last year? wasn't it almost May? Thats a long time from now.

There should be some "Mango Rains", short showers, between mid March and end April. The rains proper normally start about mid May.

[sabaijai]

Just a little breeze would help carry some of the PM out of the valley, haven't seen it this still in a long while. But that's the hot season--no monsoons, no winds.

[kat1]

Nature and the environment are discussed in schools - I know, I help at a village government school. You would make a major impact if you visited your local government school and talked to the teachers. At least one will have good enough English to converse with, and you could talk to them about the situation, your concern, and suggest helping with English classes if they could get the kids motivated into stopping the burning of rubbish by their families and neighbours.

Several schools have embraced recycling schemes as part of their OSOP (One School One Product) initiative to good effect.

We all know that Thai laws are seen as grey, so it would be very difficult to get some form of legislative action to be effective without direct access to the uninformed culprits. What better way could there be than through their children?

[lotus eater]

I don't know about BKK being as clean any western cities. I would like to know what those cities are in that case.

Here's an excerpt from a piece in the International Herald Tribune of the 25th February. It seems to infer that BKK is on a par with most american cities.

"Thailand's battle against air pollution provides a virtual how-to manual of environmental cleanup, say Shah and other air quality experts in Asia. Thai officials cajoled oil companies to produce cleaner fuel, used higher taxes to phase out the once-ubiquitous two- stroke motorcycles and converted all taxis to run on clean-burning liquefied petroleum gas. They overcame lobbying campaigns from the large, mostly Japanese-owned car industry and imposed progressively stricter emissions controls based on European norms (Thailand had no emissions standards before 1992).

The local government enacted simple but highly effective measures like washing the streets to keep the dust down. Buddhist crematoria in and around the city were urged to change from wood-burning pyres to more sophisticated electric incinerators.

The striking result is that, while the number of motor vehicles registered in Bangkok has increased by 40 percent over the past decade, the average levels of the most dangerous types of pollution — small dust particles that embed themselves in the lungs — have been cut by 47 percent, from 81 to 43 micrograms per cubic meter during the same period. Bangkok's air, on average, now falls within the limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of 50 micrograms per cubic meter, but is above the European Union limit of 40."

So yes CM would have to tackle somewhat (though not entirely) different causes, but it's not easy to say which set of problems are easier to resolve.

One poster suggested getting away for the summer. If now, ie not yet summer, is not the worst - when will it get worse? (as i mentioned earlier i’m new here – 6 months.)

Three more questions:

1

If it is the valley, general geography/topography holding the pollution and the surrrounding burning causing it, is it correct to assume that the pollution level in the city will be no worse than say 5-10 miles out?

2

If there is a variation between city and suburbs and between suburbs, which area – city or within 15 miles – would have the lowest pollution levels?

3

Which (say 3 month) period of the year is usually the worst in this sense?

I'd like to consider this issue when deciding on a place to settle into.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

I don't know about BKK being as clean any western cities. I would like to know what those cities are in that case.

Here's an excerpt from a piece in the International Herald Tribune of the 25th February. It seems to infer that BKK is on a par with most american cities.

"Thailand's battle against air pollution provides a virtual how-to manual of environmental cleanup, say Shah and other air quality experts in Asia. Thai officials cajoled oil companies to produce cleaner fuel, used higher taxes to phase out the once-ubiquitous two- stroke motorcycles and converted all taxis to run on clean-burning liquefied petroleum gas. They overcame lobbying campaigns from the large, mostly Japanese-owned car industry and imposed progressively stricter emissions controls based on European norms (Thailand had no emissions standards before 1992).

The local government enacted simple but highly effective measures like washing the streets to keep the dust down. Buddhist crematoria in and around the city were urged to change from wood-burning pyres to more sophisticated electric incinerators.

The striking result is that, while the number of motor vehicles registered in Bangkok has increased by 40 percent over the past decade, the average levels of the most dangerous types of pollution — small dust particles that embed themselves in the lungs — have been cut by 47 percent, from 81 to 43 micrograms per cubic meter during the same period. Bangkok's air, on average, now falls within the limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of 50 micrograms per cubic meter, but is above the European Union limit of 40."

So yes CM would have to tackle somewhat (though not entirely) different causes, but it's not easy to say which set of problems are easier to resolve.

One poster suggested getting away for the summer. If now, ie not yet summer, is not the worst - when will it get worse? (as i mentioned earlier i’m new here – 6 months.)

Three more questions:

1

If it is the valley, general geography/topography holding the pollution and the surrrounding burning causing it, is it correct to assume that the pollution level in the city will be no worse than say 5-10 miles out?

2

If there is a variation between city and suburbs and between suburbs, which area – city or within 15 miles – would have the lowest pollution levels?

3

Which (say 3 month) period of the year is usually the worst in this sense?

I'd like to consider this issue when deciding on a place to settle into.

It surely seems that BKK has improved things but they only cite 2 measures being within US guidelines and there are a lot more than that. They say small particles? what the heck are those? PM10? PM2.5? Pretty vague.

Does anyone have any real studies with days of PM2.5, PM5, PM 10, Ozone, CO etc. I would bet my last bahts BKK could not come close to even Los Angeles in overall air quality.

[chanchao]

Three more questions:

1

If it is the valley, general geography/topography holding the pollution and the surrrounding burning causing it, is it correct to assume that the pollution level in the city will be no worse than say 5-10 miles out?

2

If there is a variation between city and suburbs and between suburbs, which area – city or within 15 miles – would have the lowest pollution levels?

3

Which (say 3 month) period of the year is usually the worst in this sense?

This is all personal subjective observation, but I notice no difference between the city or surrounding areas. You DO get a sometimes a VERY local area that's directly affected by someone burning something, but it's not like some areas of the province (or even the whole of Northern Thailand) are always worse or always better than others. I know this from taking a trip during this time of year way way out to very remote areas, and having every bit as bad air / low visibility there as in Chiang Mai city.

Note that I personally don't perceive it as THAT bad or an actual problem. It's just hazy and I don't like it that I can't see for miles and miles like you can in the rainy season. It's sort of on par with everything being so dry and dead at the moment, another reason why I prefer the rainy season. I also wouldn't trade the North for the South or Central region weather (air quality) wise. Sure the hot & dry season sucks, but in the South I just die from the heat even just walking a short while, and the heat doesn't even go away really in the evening!

Edited March 5, 2007 by chanchao

[Maejo Man]

Chiang Mai residents told to stay home and avoid dust

KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI

Chiang Mai residents, especially the elderly, children and people with respiratory problems, have been advised to avoid outdoor activities as the city's air pollution has reached a dangerous level. The Pollution Control Department yesterday issued an air pollution warning after its air quality gauging stations in downtown Chiang Mai detected a harmful level of small dust particles.

The level of dust particles smaller than 10 microns was measured at 197.7 microgrammes per cubic metre (ug/cu m) in the city yesterday, against an acceptable level of 120 ug/cu m.

''Chiang Mai's air quality has reached a critical level since last Thursday. We recommend that residents stay home to avoid exposing themselves to small dust particles. All burning activities are also prohibited to reduce the volume of dust released into the air,'' said the warning.

Residents of Lampang province should also protect themselves from the air pollution as the province also has a very high level of small dust particles, which was measured at 207.7 ug/cu m yesterday.

Other provinces with high dust levels include Chon Buri (159) and Samut Prakan (121), according to the department.

Dust particles smaller than 10 microns could enter sensitive internal breathing organs and cause respiratory ailments.

''The increasing dust level is a result of widespread forest fires in the northern provinces and in neighbouring countries including Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia,'' said Duangchai Duangthip, a specialist at the Chiang Mai-based northern environmental office.

Ms Duangchai said Thailand is currently in the peak period for forest fires, resulting in rising levels of small dust particles across the country, but Chiang Mai is worst hit because it is surrounded by mountain ranges.

The situation has been aggravated by farming activities as many farmers still use the slash-and-burn technique to prepare their land for new crops, said Ms Duangchai.

The air pollution crisis in the northern city of 1.66 million people is predicted to continue for at least three months.

In response to the problem, the environmental office opened a call centre to update local air quality reports for residents and concerned agencies. Tambon-level emergency response units have also been set up to crack down on burning activities, which could worsen Chiang Mai's air pollution

Bangkok post 6th march

[ThaiPauly]

Does anyone have any recommendations for air filters, Ionizers etc sold in CM to help even more?

My Wife is an agent for a distribution company that sells ionisers/air filters

We have one...its quite big but it certainly swallows all the the bad air in the house and you can easily move it from room to room.

PM me if you want to know more

[ThaiPauly]

Question: that Al Gore movie .. where did you see it and when is it on again. I would love to see it.

An Inconvienient Truth.

I got a copy from the ground floor at Pantip Plazza

[ThaiPauly]

I was watering the garden a couple of days ago and I could actually "taste" the dust in the air....an awful experience, one which I have never experienced before...absolutley dreadful !

[Ulysses G.]

They lend copies to customers for FREE at Baan Suan Pac Health Food Store across from Aden near the President hotel.

[ThaiPauly]

They lend copies to customers for FREE at Baan Suan Pac Health Food Store across from Aden near the President hotel.

Well done them!

[p1p]

On the subject of "An Inconvenient Truth", I enclose the text of a recently received email:

From: "Al Gore" <[email protected]>

Date: February 27, 2007 10:35:00 AM PST

To: XXXXXXXXXXXX

Subject: Our Next Step

Reply-To: [email protected]

Al Gore

On March 21st, I'll hand-deliver your message to Washington when I testify at Congressional hearings on the climate crisis.

Can you commit to finding 10 friends to send a message to Congress demanding immediate action?

Ask them to visit:

http://algore.com/cards.html

Dear XXXXX,

When the producers of An Inconvenient Truth first approached me with the concept for the film, I was skeptical. Could we really take a slideshow about the climate crisis and turn it into a compelling movie? Davis Guggenheim’s Oscar win for best documentary and a second one for Melissa Etheridge’s beautiful song “I Need to Wake Up” was a testament to their ability, but it was also a testament to you.

It was you who packed the theaters and got your friends to go see this film, greatly increasing the audience. And then this past December, it was you who connected through MoveOn.org and AlGore.com to attend An Inconvenient Truth viewing parties. At those parties and in the weeks that followed, nearly 200,000 of you wrote to Congress, demanding that they address the climate crisis like the planetary emergency that it is.

Even though I have been a life-long movie fan, I didn’t really understand how big of an audience a movie could reach. And of course I never would have imagined in a million years that a movie that I was a part of would receive two Academy Awards—or one—or would have ever been made in the first place! As humbling as this moment is, An Inconvenient Truth will only succeed if it drives all of us to take action. That’s why I’m asking you to join me in the next stage of our fight. On March 21st, I'm going to hand-deliver the messages you signed when I testify at Congressional hearings on the climate crisis.

This is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate to Congress that we demand immediate action. And I need your help to really make this moment count. Can you commit to getting 10 friends to send their message to Congress through AlGore.com before March 21st? The more voices I can bring to Washington, the more powerful our message will be.

To get your friends involved, just forward them this note or direct them to:

http://algore.com/cards.html

There is no longer a debate about the fact that global warming is real. We're causing it. The consequences are serious, and could be headed towards catastrophe if we don’t fix it. And it's not too late. I don't want to imagine a future in which our children say, “What were our parents thinking?” “Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?” And I know you don’t either.

The hundreds of thousands of you who signed messages to Congress showed me what's possible. Working together we can unite millions of people and build support for real action on a scale that has never been seen before.

Help me take the first step and fill up that hearing room with your signatures. That picture alone will send a powerful message.

Can you commit to getting ten more people to send messages to Congress demanding action to stop global warming?

http://algore.com/cards.html

I’m looking forward to working with you on this monumental task.

Thank you,

Al Gore

Al Gore

[WaiWai]

Can you commit to finding 10 friends to send a message to Congress demanding immediate action?

Ask them to visit:

http://algore.com/cards.html

Thanks for this, p1p.

[p1p]

Just checked the Ministry of Natural Resoiurces and Environment - Pollution Control Department website. .

According to that site, the Particulate Matter<10 microns currently carried in Chiang Mai air now measures almost 250 ug/m3.

This is Very Unhealthy

People with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, and children should avoid any outdoor activity.

Everyone else should avoid prolonged exertion.

[chanchao]

I just wrote a web page about this, and took some pictures from the same spot as I did during the rainy season, knowing that this issue would come up around about now.

Have a look at the pics.... I can't wait for the rain!!

http://www.nachang.com/dryseason/

[WaiWai]

Have a look at the pics.... I can't wait for the rain!!

Good work, chanchao.

The "air" right now is is ap - pall -ing.

Is there never any artificial rain-making here ? Would rain during this period cause problems for farmers, other than hindering the burning-off activities ?