Cough, cough

[spidermike007]

A friend of mine, who lives in CM, and has a device that measures PM2.5, sent me a message saying at his apartment building the other day, the reading was 520. That is beyond Beijing or Delhi on a bad day. That is lung failure air quality. The army should hang it's head in shame, for doing so little to address the current crisis. Just another reason why they must go. The Thai people need to figure a way to get rid of these incompetents permanently.

[Konini]

Sadly it's actually getting worse as the day goes on.  The Sun usually burns some of it off but it isn't making a dent in it, To  confirm it for myself I've just looked at the numbers, currently 578 at the San Phusea station,  higher than it was at 6AM.   

 

Mr K is away on a bike ride to the north, I've told him to stay where he is if it's not too bad where they are or where they're going.  No point in coming back if he has or can find breathable air. Every year we say we'll get out for it next year and of course never do.  We're going to contribute to the smog by taking a flight to Nha Trang next week, but it's only for a week, give the lungs a blow through.  Next year, really. 

 

Seriously.  March until the rains come is the time to be somewhere else. Today is the worst I've seen it in 10 years, but I'll acknowledge that we're very  lucky to be able to get out,; most residents in the city can't just up and go.  Hell, at the moment I can't up and go with Mr K away somewhere, playing, in the mountains today. We can hire a car for 700 baht a day and drive south. I wish he hadn't gone so we could hire that car, so I'm just stamping my foot here really.  

 

But, at least, we can, if we organise ourselves.  We can hire a car or book a flight at a moment's notice. It's not fair.  Why won't the government do something?  It's education, plain and simple. Education.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Educate them so they know that the polluted air they breath every burning season It's going to give them or their children respiratory problems in the future that can be fatal.  It will cost a massive amount of money in future years to treat people with respiratory problems, way, way more than they could ever imagine and the education would be such a minor cost; this effects a huge portion of the population.  There will be so many of them in the coming years, it's a hidden disease, similar to coal and asbestos miners  People are going to die, the damage is being done today and in 10 years or 20 years or  30 years, it will all be such a big mess. Surely there must be someone who has a brain to get this sorted.  If the campaign with the tree-hugging-hippy-dippy types convinced me to recycle stuff, they can convince anyone to do anything. 

Thai's seem to be conditioned to accept rules by rote; how hard would it be?

 

Meh, ramblng...

[EL159]

As I hadnt realised how bad it was, popped out for my usual morning coffee at 08.30. When I returned, my eyes are watering, my nose is sneezing and my throat is sore. Never thought it affected me before. Now I know it does. The worst here by a million miles and I ve lived here 12 years

[Proboscis]

I just checked on my IQAir Airvisual app - your PM2.5 reading in Chiang Mai is 549.4 as of 11am this morning. Delhi is 142 (still very high but not as deadly).

 

At this level, the air is listed as "hazardous." For me, I doubt I would be able to survive in it. I find it bad enough when the PM2.4 reading goes above 100.

 

I would suggest to anyone who has any respiratory illness or condition or who has children to leave the city for the duration of this smog alert.

[steven100]

5 minutes ago, EL159 said:

As I hadnt realised how bad it was, popped out for my usual morning coffee at 08.30. When I returned, my eyes are watering, my nose is sneezing and my throat is sore. Never thought it affected me before. Now I know it does. The worst here by a million miles and I ve lived here 12 years

oh dear !   that's not good ..... you better go on a trip for a few weeks until it gets better.

[Dante99]

Is it equal to about 10 cigarettes per day (as posted on the other smoke thread) or is it the terrible crisis described by some above?

 

Yes, I do not think 10 cigarettes a day is a terrible crisis if for a small number of days.

[wwest5829]

Current AQI has topped 500.

[EL159]

13 minutes ago, steven100 said:

oh dear !   that's not good ..... you better go on a trip for a few weeks until it gets better.

I am going on a trip abroad for a few weeks but not until 18 April, sadly! Ah well. Songkran will cure the problem as the authorities always claim, when water gets thrown around!

[THAIJAMES]

4 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

Current AQI has topped 500.

You must be in a good part of town

 

[toofarnorth]

Not much different to the above , worst I have ever seen it today.  This was Maechan hospital from garden 3 days ago and I had to add light to the finished pic, as camera took it as it was .  

[cmsally]

Are they still holding the night marathon tonight ???

They should be charged with wilful negligence, if they do.

[nickmondo]

3 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Got back from a month in Tasmania yesterday and it's like moving back to Hell.  Wife now says we should move away from Chiang Mai for good as the useless local Politicians will do nothing to help even though their own families are being poisoned on a daily basis.

 

Sad situation but indicative of this country and all its unsolvable problems.

fantastic idea.  get out of there.  Chiang Mai not so great anyway.  I have already left.  Further south to the beaches for me.  The thais will never stop the burning.  Its the same with the plastic use.  They dont care at all.

 

[nickmondo]

36 minutes ago, steven100 said:

oh dear !   that's not good ..... you better go on a trip for a few weeks until it gets better.

if you want clean air, great climate, good standard of living, its got to be Andalucia in Spain all day long.

[e2x10]

Powers that be are on the job.

 

[damascase]

Same here in Chiang Rai today, the worst I’ve ever seen.

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

The army should hang it's head in shame, for doing so little

And so should the former leaders.  This has been going on for centuries, but no local officials dare to do anything about it. Nothing to do with the present government.

 

 

[ThaiBunny]

6 minutes ago, e2x10 said:

Powers that be are on the job.

In the UK slang meaning of that phrase?

[om3n1rpak]

My Xaomi 2s which has consistently kept my rooms below 40 pm2.5 for weeks now, is now stuck at 250...... There is no escape at this level

[jesimps]

I know I usually give Chiang Mai stick on here, but that's because on my one trip there I found it to be an incredibly boring place with no baht buses to get around, very dangerous roads and an expensive and not very good bar area. However, the air was clear during my stay. I can't imagine, why ANYONE would want to live there with the choking smog as well. In fact, I don't know why anyone would want to stay anywhere in the world where there was choking smog. All that and the worst immigration office in the country to boot.

[om3n1rpak]

52 minutes ago, cmsally said:

Are they still holding the night marathon tonight ???

They should be charged with wilful negligence, if they do.

Seriously. I'm imagining some scifi looking scene with bunch of marathoners in soviet era respirators

[om3n1rpak]

1 minute ago, jesimps said:

I know I usually give Chiang Mai stick on here, but that's because on my one trip there I found it to be an incredibly boring place with no baht buses to get around, very dangerous roads and an expensive and not very good bar area. However, the air was clear during my stay. I can't imagine, why ANYONE would want to live there with the choking smog as well. In fact, I don't know why anyone would want to stay anywhere in the world where there was choking smog. All that and the worst immigration office in the country to boot.

Uhh, perhaps some people live in Thailand for reasons other than bars and baht busses? Sure the pollution sucks, but CM has a lot to offer that other cities in Thailand do not.

[trainman34014]

4 hours ago, Cadbury said:

Tasmania, indeed an extreme comparison between good and bad and healthy and unhealthy air. Something I am looking forward to in 6 weeks time.

You will love it; comes a close second to New Zealand South Island for Flora and Fauna, we circumnavigated it by road over a twelve day period stopping off nightly to stay in some wonderful Cabins found at random.    Following that it was back to Melbourne and an adventure down the 'Great Ocean Road' to see Koala's in the wild etc etc, including more clean air !

[ratcatcher]

41 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

In the UK slang meaning of that phrase?

The British Parliament is on the job, meaning everyone is getting screwed.

[THAIJAMES]

39 minutes ago, om3n1rpak said:

My Xaomi 2s which has consistently kept my rooms below 40 pm2.5 for weeks now, is now stuck at 250...... There is no escape at this level

You'll probably get some improvement if you seal the room better

[Denim]

And at last the wonderful prime minister is taking action.

 

[orang37]

57 minutes ago, e2x10 said:

Powers that be are on the job.

 

Malevolent entities are on the job.

 

FTFY

 

~o:37;

[marioc]

Today in Chiang Mai..... usually the scale can measure only up to 500.... CM is breaking all the records and rules of measuring ????

[THAIJAMES]

20 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

You will love it; comes a close second to New Zealand South Island for Flora and Fauna, we circumnavigated it by road over a twelve day period stopping off nightly to stay in some wonderful Cabins found at random.    Following that it was back to Melbourne and an adventure down the 'Great Ocean Road' to see Koala's in the wild etc etc, including more clean air !

I was almost going to go there this this smoke season but was afraid that Tasmania has been ruined by the fires recently?

[trainman34014]

8 minutes ago, THAIJAMES said:

I was almost going to go there this this smoke season but was afraid that Tasmania has been ruined by the fires recently?

Almost unseen on our visit and there were few places we missed.

[vivid]

All the pent up feelings and emotions all let out in 1 morning. ????