Forest fires raise air pollution levels in North

By The Naton

 

 

Northern residents suffered increased air pollution on Friday as many areas had dangerous levels of tiny particulate dust, fueled by multiple forest fires in many parts of the region and in neighbouring countries.

 

The Pollution Control Department (PCD) at 11am, put the 24-hour average of PM2.5 – airborne particulates 2.5 microns or less in diameter – between 27 and 177 micrograms per cubic metre of air in nine northern provinces.

 

Tambon Jong Kham in Muang Mae Hong Son was worst off at 177 mcg, followed by Wiang Phang Kham in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district at 143 mcg. 

 

Tambon Wiang in Muang Chiang Rai cited 98 mcg, while Chang Pheuk, Sri Phum and Suthep in Muang Chiang Mai cited 90 mcg, 72 mcg, 65 mcg respectively and Chang Kherng in Mae Chaem cited 67 mcg. 

 

Chiang Mai University mobile "Dust Boy" devices however showed real-time readings that several spots in Chiang Mai had even more dangerously high levels. 

 

The "DustBoy" showed that as of 11am, Tambon Yang Mern and Tambon Samoeng Tai in Samoeng district cited the PM2.5 levels of 563.57 mcg and 521.41 mcg while both flashing the alarming "Beyond AQI" message.

 

Chiang Mai also was the world's second most polluted city on  airvisual.comas at 11am as it had an air quality index (AQI) of 246 and 195 mcg in PM2.5, after Lahore (261 and 211.6 mcg).

 

Chiang Mai proceeded with haze-control measures including strictly enforcing the outdoor burning ban, tackling forest fires - where Chiang Mai as of 2.54am had 131 hot spots - and procuring another 50,000 face masks for distribution, in addition to the 600,000 face masks that were previously handed out, said deputy provincial governor Khomsan Suwan-ampa. 

 

Officials raised people's awareness and equipped them with health information while a "Safety Zone" with air-purifying devices was set at the International Exhibition and Convention Centre in Muang district to support up to 1,000 people, he said. 

 

A seminar will be held on April 4 for officials from all nine northern haze-affected provinces to exchange ideas and co-ordinate in haze-tackling, he added.

 

In Phayao's Muang district where the 24-hour average of PM2.5 was cited at 65 mcg, district chief Suwit Suriyawong instructed forest firefighting staff to put out hot spots in tambon Mae Na Rua and tambon Mae Ka - the latter of which damaged 50 rais of forestland before it was extinguished.

 

In Mae Hon Son's Muang district, despite the authority's declaration to close off forestland days ago, a forest fire occurred at 3.30am near the entrance to Wat Phra That Doi Kongmu but officials put it out within an hour. 

 

Another fire then took place in forest along the Highway 108 in tambon Huai Pong, damaging internet cables, resulting in the lost signal in parts of the city for the fifth time this month. 

 

A source at the TOT PCL's Mae Hong Son branch said seven internet service operators had earlier raised Bt1 million for workers to cut tree branches and creepers along the highways number 108, 1095 and another 15 roads to prevent forest fire damaging Internet cables.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30366783

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-29

This article is already a day out of date & today, Saturday, the AQI is significantly worse.

 

At 9:30 am the pm2,5 level as measured by 18 devices across CM city has hit 425,9 micrograms per cubic metre. This is nothing short of criminal.

In other news - water is wet. 

Share this with your thai friends.

https://youtu.be/gfYPnC-asKo

 

The local Government fiddles....while the North burns.....cough,cough !

regards Worgeordie

Lets just amended that title slightly to reflect the truth..............

 

Deliberately started forest fires raise air pollution levels in North, as police and local officials Do Nothing!    (Again)

Any minute now BJ will announce a stringent crackdown on ecigs as the main cause ????

Can they use water bombers 

 

up in Udon Thani a lot of smog in the outskirts for two days Mon 18th march

Tuesday 19th, went to the jungle twice as bad, and you could see the black

clouds in the afternoon. (looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off)

went for a ride mostly burnt fields in a few directions, you would need a

proper mask if you were going to stay for more than a few days. 

21 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Any minute now BJ will announce a stringent crackdown on ecigs as the main cause ????

No, it goes a little something like this.......... foreigners come to Thailand in their millions (according to TAT) which means more transport is required to ferry them around. More foreigners means more aircons are being switched on. ( can U C where I am going with this) ????  More foreigners are causing more pollution. More pollution means hotter weather. Hotter weather means dryer weather. Dryer weather means dry brush and grass. Dryer brush and grass means fires starting by themselves through Mother Nature ( who is a foreigner by the way)  and NOW, we have this smog and smoke and high levels of pollution.

 

The reason ............................................... Foreigners. ????

24 minutes ago, bkksiam said:

Can they use water bombers 

 

They have one, but it won't start!   ????

All the talk is just that - talk.  They're waiting for the rain to show up so everyone can forget if for another year.  No one is going to discuss the real reasons behind the 400 to 500 mcg reading, and Bangkok a week or so back simply said there is no problem.
Blah, blah, blah.  Just talk, no action.

If they just went after the mushroom brokers and sellers wholesale to retail they would solve the problem. This is plainly the majority of the selfish reason. Rack these little s * b's up hard. 

8 minutes ago, connda said:

All the talk is just that - talk.  They're waiting for the rain to show up so everyone can forget if for another year.  No one is going to discuss the real reasons behind the 400 to 500 mcg reading, and Bangkok a week or so back simply said there is no problem.
Blah, blah, blah.  Just talk, no action.

I agree. They are just hiding out under their desks, rubbing their little gold amulets, praying for rain and wind so all will be forgotten, until next year.

 

They should be embarrassed and ashamed...2 traits that Thai's don't seem to possess.

Current reading @ aqicn.org Chiang Rai Government hospital station  625 out by Wiang Chai 390 it has been 430 for most of the day. The wind must have shifted over night I woke up at 2 am and saw the current level of smoke roll in. Bad for everyone but especially those with respiratory problems. We need wind and rain.

I wonder if there’s a type or aerially deployable chemical fire retardant that would also serve to ruin or prevent the growth of those mushrooms. Even if the fires aren’t completely put out the attempt could ruin whole swaths of forest land for mushroom harvesting. Thus, the greedy and selfish SOBs who are lighting the figures will have to reconcile the prospect that the more fires they light the more they <deleted> up their own mushroom hunting lands.

All this is science fiction of course, the government will continue to saber rattle while actually doing nothing to solve the problem.