When do the arsonists stop burning?

[mike787]

Answer = when there is nothing left to burn.

[toofarnorth]

3 hours ago, Katipo said:

The air pollution readings are on the rise again in central Thailand too. Getting up over 100 in some areas. Lots of burning going on in every direction.

Trouble here is I think the ban is over . Possibly May 1st open season on burning .  So call these fire starters all the names you want and they might not be breaking the law !  But to me it is like in the middle of town here outside 7-eleven there is probably a 40 kph speed limit , doesn't make it ok to drive past at that speed. 

[connda]

I've lived in the area for over a decade, and today is the worst I've ever seen it here in Northern Lamphun province.  Driving home from Lamphun city cars are driving with their headlights on at 5:30 PM.  Driving up our valley the mountains and sky are shrouded in a heavy smog, and looking up and down the valley there are fires burning everywhere.  There is private burning, ag burning, and forests burning.  Looks like how I'd envision the lands around JRR Tolkin's conception of Mordor. The air is simply choking with acrid fumes and the local keep setting fires.  

[HaleySabai]

3 hours ago, XenZen said:

I think the air got bad around February 10th or just before.   May 10th it will be bad as well.  that is THREE MONTHS, or 25% of the year, and it's definitely bad for you.  maybe problems that will wreck the last 10-years of your life, or more.  i guess i thought it would change and i'm sad there is no way i can retire in a place that is really hot AND ruins my health. 

 

I cycled into town from Mae Rim on that Sunday (Feb.10th) and it was still o.k. It was actually the very next day,Feb.11th, that the death-cloud blew in over the Province.

Others may say the air is always bad,which it's not, but I consider the beginning of the burning season when the mountains become obscured and then disappear.

Feb. peaked put in my area at 206 PM2.5 and I thought that was outrageous,until the end of March which peaked at 503! April subsided to Feb. levels and now May has more or less leveled at around 150.

After the horrors of March I have to say I hardly notice the air now,although I do monitor it daily,but have seemingly adapted to it. After being hold up in the house for 6wks I'm also just fed-up with this whole shit-show and are counting the days when I take the Fam. back to Canada for the summer.

 

 

[Ulic]

As I understand it, the burning stops when the rains come.  

[Isaanbiker]

On 5/7/2019 at 9:36 AM, holy cow cm said:

Just drove back up from BKK the other day and just talking about the hills from Lampang to Lamphun are all burnt out or smoldering. Honestly, the more these uneducated uncaring Thai or mountain people without Thai ID are allowed to do the burning, the worse it is going to get as the population grows.. Can't the government be smart enough and get together with every little town and city on how to really catch and punish them? It is pure greed and would think basically only many hundreds to a thousand or so of people who set these thousands of fires..

Can't the government be smart enough? You seem to have very high expectations. 

[Throatwobbler]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Before Songkran when CM was at it's worst, I flew to Saigon for a week, air totally clear.

Then I got the bus to Phnom Penh for another week, air totally clear.

 

I couldn't believe Chiang Mai was so bad in comparison to Vietnam and Cambodia.

If I survive, I have Hanoi and Nimh Binh pencilled in for March next year.

 

We went to Hanoi this March and the air was terrible. As bad as here. The South of Vietnam is ok but not the North. The smog is hanging over this whole Northern region.

[inThailand]

CM the most polluted city, second worst traffic in LOS, three bars and they don't sell booze from 2 to 5pm and more Chinese than in Shanghai. Why wouldn't you want to live there? 

[Trujillo]

Why are you even starting this thread? 

Burning is legal now. 

 

"Ahead of northern Thailand’s traditional burning season, the Chiang Mai Provincial Authority has announced that there will be a fire ban in place starting March 1.

Running 61 days, the fire ban will end April 30, 15 days longer than a similar ban put in place to reduce pollution last year."

 

-- 61-day burning ban in CM

[HaleySabai]

In theory the "burning ban" period would work well and with a "burn,baby burn" green light for May and rains expected in June to clear the air - no complaints,right. However, this is, yes you guessed it,Thailand where a phrase like "burning burning ban" isn't considered an oxymoron.

 

 

[connda]

21 hours ago, Ulic said:

As I understand it, the burning stops when the rains come.  

Which is the same day that those in Government House as well as the governors in the North will pat each other on the backs for doing such a swell job at solving the 'haze problem in the North', after which there will be awards handed out and photo-ops.  

 

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by connda

[connda]

14 hours ago, inThailand said:

CM the most polluted city, second worst traffic in LOS, three bars and they don't sell booze from 2 to 5pm and more Chinese than in Shanghai. Why wouldn't you want to live there? 

Because some of us were stupid enough to marry a Thai national, have a family, and sink roots?

My suggestion to others contemplating the same path?  Don't 

[piewarmer]

CM is beautiful outside smoke season when it's not a religious dry day and not peak hour

Cheaper than bangers and cooler than Hua Hin

clutching at straws really.

[banagan]

On 5/9/2019 at 9:57 AM, Trujillo said:

Why are you even starting this thread? 

Burning is legal now. 

 

"Ahead of northern Thailand’s traditional burning season, the Chiang Mai Provincial Authority has announced that there will be a fire ban in place starting March 1.

Running 61 days, the fire ban will end April 30, 15 days longer than a similar ban put in place to reduce pollution last year."

 

-- 61-day burning ban in CM

I assumed setting fire to forests was illegal.

[pferdy62]

There are a few different groups of people that are responsible for the fires.

1.  Farmers will burn their fields prior to planting their wet season crop.  I have been told that they must do this in order to increase the pH of the soil to counter the acidity that is introduced by chemical fertilisers.  

 

2.  Villagers burn the forests as it makes it easier for them to find and collect mushrooms at the start of the rainy season.  

 

3.  Villagers burn the forests to clear scrub prior to clearing the  trees to encroach further into the forests.  Some areas are more prone to this than others

 

4.  The ant egg collectors have been known to "accidentally" start fires after smoking the ants out of a harvested nest.

 

5.  Some hill tribes are still using old slash and burn agricultural practices

 

6.  We are getting more and more reports that it is not the lower classes that are responsible for most of the fires.  You need to draw your own conclusions as to who I am referring to.

 

From my observations of the fires in Lampang Province this year, the firebugs worked with exceptional diligence.  No sooner would we put a fire out than it would start up again several hours later.  In some cases, they would give us a break and revisit an area of forest a couple of months later to make sure that they managed to burn whatever was left over.  

 

These firebugs are also quite fit.  There were so many occasions where the first smoke was detected high up in the local hills.  To get to these places requires a walk of 2 to 3 hours each way.