Health Advisory

[roblin]

Nice graphic, Loom, thanks.

I should have made it slightly clearer (as you did) that 1999 and 2007 being 'bad' does not mean all the other years were 'good'. Pollution and all the accompanying carcinogens have been a problem nearly every year.

Given 1999's pattern, anyone planning a holiday here before July would be well advised to make cancellable bookings and keep an eye on the daily pollution tables.

Then cancel if the situation is unchanged as your ETA approaches. Chiang Mai is extremely unpleasant to be in in these conditions - you wouldn't want to visit, believe me.

Speaking of which, I'm leaving for a month or two's enforced holiday in Krabi in about 30 minutes.

i was planning one week songkran in chiang mai. seems i will cancel that plan. is there any clean-air-city with some serious songkran-celibration?

[Ulysses G.]

It rains during Songkran almost every year.

[JuniorExPat]

It rains during Songkran almost every year.

. . . . but according to UG it's more like a distant mist and doesn't actually get you wet . . .

JxP

[Ulysses G.]

Actually, it does get you wet - even if you are not prone to making mountains out of mole hills.

[KhunMarco]

No mountains a no hills in sight around here

EDIT:But honestly..ehrm , today is a bit better than yesterday FWIW

Edited March 15, 2007 by KhunMarco

[WaiWai]

"First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain,

Then there is ... "

Give away your age by knowing who penned and sang those lines .

CM's air problem was reported on both BBC and CNN TV news last night. If residents and tourists do vote with their feet, there's a remote chance of some measures being taken to alleviate it.

[bggg]

"First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain,

Then there is ... "

Give away your age by knowing who penned and sang those lines .

CM's air problem was reported on both BBC and CNN TV news last night. If residents and tourists do vote with their feet, there's a remote chance of some measures being taken to alleviate it.

I think they are already voting with their feet. I know of a few multinational companies that have cancelled execs trips here because of the pollution in the last few days. My neighbor was to have friends arrive fri they have cancelled. I also know of at least 7 expat families that have left pulled their kids from school and fled the city, we are considering doing the same if it does not change soon.

[Robroy]

Today's reading for PM10s is 229.5, down from yesterday's 304, but still in the dangerous range.

The broader AQI is 148 - ditto (yesterday 180), but cold comfort given that yesterday's reading was an alltime record.

I noticed my breathing improved a bit after leaving CM an hour or so ago, tho am still sneezing and coughing a lot. That may take several days. (Am presently in BKK airport picking up the free wi-fi signal near the departures area.)

One thing that puzzles me a little, having flown into CM from Laos 6 days ago, and flying CM-BKK today, is that there are/were almost no fires visible from the plane. (One smallish one on each trip.) This is in sharp contradistinction to the fire map we've all been looking at. Perhaps they're too small to spot from that height - tho even on landing and take-off at CM there wasn't anything visible burning.

The generalised smoke of course is another matter. The haze around BKK looks to be about 40% as thick as CM's. You can see for some miles - something I haven't done up north for a while.

Shortly flying south, to find somewhere safe to live.

[earlofwindermere]

Enjoy Krabi Robroy. My wife and friends are there as well. You'll have to start up a Chiang Mai refuge group there.

[WaiWai]

somewhere safe to live

Good luck & please report back, perhaps in the General section.

[KhunMarco]

Shortly flying south, to find somewhere safe to live.

Ehe, Krabi area is my chosen destination too, can't wait to land my @ss on the white sand of Ko Poda

4 days to go Yay!!!

A pic took 2 years ago

[Kaysfeld]

Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to live. For 1-2 months every year about now the air is hazy however. THIS YEAR it seems, a pefect storm of contributory causes has led to an extremely hazy season. It is not the norm by any means and it will soon pass.

I agree that Chiang Mai is a wonderful place.

I also think you have to be honest about this.

It is more than a month a year of bad air EVERY YEAR.

Also, I have read that Chiang Mai has some of the highest rates of respiratory diseases and deaths in the world.

I know it is galling to hear criticism of Chiang Mai from a resident of world famous sleaze pit Pattaya, but sometimes the truth hurts.

http://www.umad.de/infos/cleanair13/pdf/full_167.pdf

This was from 1999. It is fair to assume things have only gotten WORSE:

Public Health Office data for 1999 indicated that 42,739 people out of every 100,000 (42.7%) in

Chiang Mai suffered from respiratory problems.

Acting like there isn't a big problem does nothing towards improving it. And there is alot the Thais can do to fix it.

The air quality was extremly bad i 1999 lasting into July.

The politicians got a warning then, but did they do anything about it.

No it seems, as they have allowed people to continue their burning.

[tigerbeer]

Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to live. For 1-2 months every year about now the air is hazy however. THIS YEAR it seems, a pefect storm of contributory causes has led to an extremely hazy season. It is not the norm by any means and it will soon pass.

I agree that Chiang Mai is a wonderful place.

I also think you have to be honest about this.

It is more than a month a year of bad air EVERY YEAR.

Also, I have read that Chiang Mai has some of the highest rates of respiratory diseases and deaths in the world.

I know it is galling to hear criticism of Chiang Mai from a resident of world famous sleaze pit Pattaya, but sometimes the truth hurts.

http://www.umad.de/infos/cleanair13/pdf/full_167.pdf

This was from 1999. It is fair to assume things have only gotten WORSE:

Public Health Office data for 1999 indicated that 42,739 people out of every 100,000 (42.7%) in

Chiang Mai suffered from respiratory problems.

Acting like there isn't a big problem does nothing towards improving it. And there is alot the Thais can do to fix it.

The air quality was extremly bad i 1999 lasting into July.

The politicians got a warning then, but did they do anything about it.

No it seems, as they have allowed people to continue their burning.

many threads have been recently put up on the bad haze around chiang mai, so i don't really see a reason for this new thread. however this is how chiang mai is and perhaps shall set precedence for the future with more enroachment into the forest for more profitable crops, more garbage to be incenerated especially with the influx of tourists, residents recently etc etc etc.

if your medical condition does not permit you to live here, then please by all means move to another city or perhaps another country. stop whining about it. lets get some other discussions going. no pun intended.

[tigerbeer]

Shortly flying south, to find somewhere safe to live.

Ehe, Krabi area is my chosen destination too, can't wait to land my @ss on the white sand of Ko Poda

4 days to go Yay!!!

A pic took 2 years ago

KM, wow ! .. langkawi is pretty nice too....... just got back from there a couple weeks back. what a wonderful place to be at.

[Kaysfeld]

How can it be that the politicians didn't learn from the 1999 lethal air pollution in the Northern provinces?

It seems that they have allowed the fires to happen, and not done anything to stop and punish the guilty that start the fires.

Now Chiang Mai may have a similar situation.

Will they learn anything this time? Probably not.

[Austhaied]

How can it be that the politicians didn't learn from the 1999 lethal air pollution in the Northern provinces?

It seems that they have allowed the fires to happen, and not done anything to stop and punish the guilty that start the fires.

Now Chiang Mai may have a similar situation.

Will they learn anything this time? Probably not.

Once bitten twice shy doesn't seem to get through to the powers that be here. Surprising though when the Dhamma (Buddhas teachings) and karma (cause and effect) are taught from a young age here. Or they used to be anyway.

[Jingthing]

I will make one last comment, welcome or not.

Just because you don't YET have a respiratory medical condition, that doesn't mean you won't get one just living in a dirty air city.

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

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?

[StefanH]

I will make one last comment, welcome or not.

Just because you don't YET have a respiratory medical condition, that doesn't mean you won't get one just living in a dirty air city.

Exactly

[Bananaman]

Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to live. For 1-2 months every year about now the air is hazy however. THIS YEAR it seems, a pefect storm of contributory causes has led to an extremely hazy season. It is not the norm by any means and it will soon pass.

I agree that Chiang Mai is a wonderful place.

I also think you have to be honest about this.

It is more than a month a year of bad air EVERY YEAR.

Also, I have read that Chiang Mai has some of the highest rates of respiratory diseases and deaths in the world.

I know it is galling to hear criticism of Chiang Mai from a resident of world famous sleaze pit Pattaya, but sometimes the truth hurts.

http://www.umad.de/infos/cleanair13/pdf/full_167.pdf

This was from 1999. It is fair to assume things have only gotten WORSE:

Public Health Office data for 1999 indicated that 42,739 people out of every 100,000 (42.7%) in

Chiang Mai suffered from respiratory problems.

Acting like there isn't a big problem does nothing towards improving it. And there is alot the Thais can do to fix it.

The air quality was extremly bad i 1999 lasting into July.

The politicians got a warning then, but did they do anything about it.

No it seems, as they have allowed people to continue their burning.

many threads have been recently put up on the bad haze around chiang mai, so i don't really see a reason for this new thread. however this is how chiang mai is and perhaps shall set precedence for the future with more enroachment into the forest for more profitable crops, more garbage to be incenerated especially with the influx of tourists, residents recently etc etc etc.

if your medical condition does not permit you to live here, then please by all means move to another city or perhaps another country. stop whining about it. lets get some other discussions going. no pun intended.

When you're coughing and wheezing like I am then you might feel inclined to do a little whining yourself. I have no previous history of respiratory problems and yet here I am feeling like somebody's emptied the contents of a two-stroke engine into my chest and lungs. Yes, there are a lot of threads about this right now because it is an incredibly serious issue. Do be a little more understanding and allow folk the opportunity to voice their personal concerns; after all, that is one of the reasons for a forum like this.

A final point, some people with families have no option to relocate or if they do then it would involve drastic upheaval so have little choice but to endure this current misery.

[tigerbeer]

Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to live. For 1-2 months every year about now the air is hazy however. THIS YEAR it seems, a pefect storm of contributory causes has led to an extremely hazy season. It is not the norm by any means and it will soon pass.

I agree that Chiang Mai is a wonderful place.

I also think you have to be honest about this.

It is more than a month a year of bad air EVERY YEAR.

Also, I have read that Chiang Mai has some of the highest rates of respiratory diseases and deaths in the world.

I know it is galling to hear criticism of Chiang Mai from a resident of world famous sleaze pit Pattaya, but sometimes the truth hurts.

http://www.umad.de/infos/cleanair13/pdf/full_167.pdf

This was from 1999. It is fair to assume things have only gotten WORSE:

Public Health Office data for 1999 indicated that 42,739 people out of every 100,000 (42.7%) in

Chiang Mai suffered from respiratory problems.

Acting like there isn't a big problem does nothing towards improving it. And there is alot the Thais can do to fix it.

The air quality was extremly bad i 1999 lasting into July.

The politicians got a warning then, but did they do anything about it.

No it seems, as they have allowed people to continue their burning.

many threads have been recently put up on the bad haze around chiang mai, so i don't really see a reason for this new thread. however this is how chiang mai is and perhaps shall set precedence for the future with more enroachment into the forest for more profitable crops, more garbage to be incenerated especially with the influx of tourists, residents recently etc etc etc.

if your medical condition does not permit you to live here, then please by all means move to another city or perhaps another country. stop whining about it. lets get some other discussions going. no pun intended.

When you're coughing and wheezing like I am then you might feel inclined to do a little whining yourself. I have no previous history of respiratory problems and yet here I am feeling like somebody's emptied the contents of a two-stroke engine into my chest and lungs. Yes, there are a lot of threads about this right now because it is an incredibly serious issue. Do be a little more understanding and allow folk the opportunity to voice their personal concerns; after all, that is one of the reasons for a forum like this.

A final point, some people with families have no option to relocate or if they do then it would involve drastic upheaval so have little choice but to endure this current misery.

yup but just wonder if you guys do whine this much about your own countries that you come from in case something like that happens? shiitt happens and its not like chiang mai is like this throughout the year. am sure global warming plays an important role in all of this too... now let me see, which is the world's greatest pollutor per capita?

[p1p]

A pic took 2 years ago

Look closely and you can see the smog rolling in to the right of the island there. Hope it hasn't arrived yet

[yabs]

I must admit koh poda is very nice

[Maejo Man]

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.

[miltonbentley]

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.

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

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

Edited March 15, 2007 by miltonbentley

[marshbags]

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

[KhunMarco]

A pic took 2 years ago

Look closely and you can see the smog rolling in to the right of the island there. Hope it hasn't arrived yet

KhunMarco --> No that's not smog, you... Yes it is, yes it is ahaaaaa <-- P1p

Just a reminder of the beauty of this country....take that haaaaa....the water is so clear you can't piss without being noticed 5555555!

[SamSipEt]

A final point, some people with families have no option to relocate or if they do then it would involve drastic upheaval so have little choice but to endure this current misery.

What came first the smog or the family?

If you / they are really that concerned then they shouldn’t be breeding here anyway

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

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

[Ricardo]

Visibility in Mae-Jo today went from about 500m to, late afternoon, a couple of km. Whatever they are doing , perhaps prayers (?) , seems to be working.

Standby for everybody to light-up again just as soon as they find the matches.