Chiang Mai Air Quality and Pollution

[Samuel Smith]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Well, instead of hiking/cycling 3x a week, I find it hard to just go once.

So that makes me 66/100, can hardly be bothered to do anything.

#metoo  

 

Probably 75/100

[orang37]

54 minutes ago, cerox said:

AQI should be above 200 now in the end of February. Not good, because it means there will be burning when many of us come back in the end of April and May

 

This is like a surgeon saying: "damn, not enough gangrene to amputate."

 

~o:37;

[chingmai331]

you think bad air is making me tired?  i'm so weary half the week. the bad air affects my breathing sure, but are my lungs and blood compromised?

 

currently air in hua hin as bad as CM, so what's the merit in moving there?

[KrishnaCameb4Buddha]

The website aqicn.org AQI reads approx 150 now Fri Feb 21 7:30AM for Chiang Mai.

 

My meter--which I have calibrated numerous times before---reads approx 225, much higher than what aqicn.org claims.

 

For months and months up until a few weeks ago, my meter was always in accord with the government website aqicn.org

 

But recently--as burning season spews more and more PMs--when the AQI on my meter is, say, over 200 the website aqicn.org reads up to 100 *lower* than what I believe the true reading is.  As the day progresses, and as the pollution level falls from the morning highs of over 200 to in the 150's or so, then aqicn.org reading is in accord with my meter.

 

Could it be that 'someone' told aqicn.org to fudge the numbers to appear lower than when they are actually in the purple range (201-300, 'very unhealthy')?

 

Do the plummeting tourist numbers have anything to do with trying to paint a happy face on Thailand?  

[cerox]

I hope you are right about that and they are doing their job / getting it done. Because the numbers I see on AQI websites, make me angry, they do not burn enough, that means it will last too long.

I wonder whats the big deal is. Have they run out of matches? We had 200-300 and more last year. Why cant you do this properly?

[KrishnaCameb4Buddha]

for 6,000 baht you can buy a high quality air filtration machine which is considerably lower than the 18,000 baht Sharps and Panasonics that are sold.  For 8,000 baht you can buy a larger version of the same machine.  

 

Go to Maya to the floor with the mobile phones, look for the orange and white sign that says Mi.

 

Mi is the company Xiaomi, the giant Chinese company which makes the Android phone that looks like an Iphone, and which phone is rated very high by computer magazines (but not as easy to get repaired in Thailand as is Oppo because there are few repair shops).

 

The air machine is lightweight, comes in a great box with a secure handle.  Replacement filters are around 900 baht.  The machine has an AQI meter built in to show the Air Quality that is flowing *out* of the machine.  Very impressive technology at an affordable price.  At least when you are in your room you can breathe AQI 25 or so, rather than the toxic brew right outside your window, which high PMs cause stroke, heart attack, dementia, Alzhiemers.

 

 

 

 

 

[Scott]

Troll post reported and removed.   Keep it civil and on topic.  

 

[KrishnaCameb4Buddha]

RE: N95 masks.  They really work.  I strapped one over the *intake* of my CPAP machine, the machine for people with sleep apnea.

 

I measured the AQI with my meter when I visited a small town in Kanchanaburi where the burning is even worsenthan Chiang Mai, with AQI in the morning reading in the 300's, even 400's.  (The AQI is *worse* in small rural towns because front-yard burning is allowed, unlike inside Chiang Mai city)

 

I then put the meter in line with the 'nose pillow' where the CPAP delivers the air, i.e., the ‘exhaust’ or ‘outtake’.  

 

The 3M N95 mask dropped the level to approximately 25, in the ‘green’ level from 300-400!

 

As many already know the gauzy surgical masks that are not N95 rated, will not prevent PM2.5 or PM10 from getting in your lungs.

[CNXexpat]

WOW!

[Ventenio]

The forecast is soooooo weirdly predictable.  FIRST of the month and things really change.  March 1st and it looks to get MUCH worse.  I've seen this sooo many times.   I guess this year the rainy season wasn't very strong, but I'm sure it started "on time."  

[cerox]

Why are they not burning? AQI mostly orange, has been like that for days.

Really getting angry. Can we donate matches? Or what is the problem? Get it done.

[Yom]

6 hours ago, cerox said:

AQI mostly orange, has been like that for days.

  Ophthalmologist ?

[NotEinstein]

cerox

It is because today the deputy governor of Chiang Mai, oversaw a cursing ceremony aimed at bringing bad luck and karma to all forest fire starters.

[cerox]

It is now all orange again apart from a few exceptions in CNX city.

Really not funny. We rely on this going out for a period of time. They are not keeping up their deal and burn earlier and later instead. They must be laughing very hard.

[JimmyJ]

A poster in one of these Thailand or Bangkok or Chiang Mai Air Quality threads put 3 annual month by month charts that looked like they were from aqicn.org on one page.

 

A very useful visual reference.

Unfortunately I forgot to bookmark it.

 

If he is reading this or anyone else who saw it - please repost it here and/or pm me the url.

 

Thank you.

 

[JimmyJ]

 

Like the above but 3 of them - 3 consecutive years.

Edited February 24, 2020 by JimmyJ

[KrishnaCameb4Buddha]

AQI is 250 now, in Chiang Mai, near Kad Suan Kaew, *NOT* the approx 150 that aqicn.org claims on their website.

 

Members could benefit by buying an AQI meter and help expose this mis-stating of the actual numbers.  I heard that someone on Facebook is selling them in Chiang Mai for around 2500 baht.

 

For almost two years I've been monitoring the AQI with my meter and with aqicn.org, and up until about a month ago the numbers have always coincided.  But lately, the numbers only coincide when the AQI on my meter is 150 or below. However, when my meter shows a much higher reading, somehow aqicn.org reading does not budge.  

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by KrishnaCameb4Buddha
clarify

[Forza2002]

[chaila]

23 minutes ago, Forza2002 said:

Be patient Forza,Chiang Mai 13 march 2019

[NorthernRyland]

I'm in Mae Jo Chiang Mai but this could apply to anywhere. 

 

1) does anyone know what the 122 value from http://aqicn.org/city/chiang-mai/ is derived from? This is obviously not a reflection of an average that makes any sense to me. I don't know where aqicn.org gets its data from but can Thailand manipulate it so that people getting the official number from phones etc... are getting a fake number? I also see that numbers from February have been omitted in the historical data (go to the website and scroll to the bottom). Very suspicious!

 

2) The device flickers so I wasn't able to capture it properly but outside in front of my house it's reading 85 PM 2.5 at about 4PM in Mae Jo Chiang Mai. This number seems way too low but can the device be wrong? The air filter in the house is reading 65 PM 2.5 so I tend to think it's correct.

 

Does anyone in Chiang Mai have any personal data they've collected that can confirm the correct number? The sky looks absolutely disgusting today, can't even see the mountains slightly. I want to believe the number is about 150+ like the map shows but I can't confirm this from my own tests.

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by genericptr

[CharlieH]

There was another thread recently explaining the difference in AQI readings and the reading on air filters and the equation used to balance them as they are not the same thing.

 

Convert pm2.5 to AQI here https://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.calculator

 

Based on this calculator, your filter in house of 65 represents AQI of 156 !

[Yorkshire Tea]

1 hour ago, genericptr said:

 

 

 

 

 The air filter in the house is reading 65 PM 2.5 so I tend to think it's correct.

 

 

 

 

 

Post a photo of your air purifier reading 65.  Could be showing pm2.5 conc or AQI.

Or your filter is finished, or you haven't taken it out of the plastic...

Edited February 27, 2020 by Yorkshire Tea

[NorthernRyland]

Here's a picture. You're right, I don't see any units just a number of "50" but given it's in the green zone I think this is AQI.

[NorthernRyland]

On 2/24/2020 at 9:19 PM, JimmyJ said:

 

Like the above but 3 of them - 3 consecutive years.

This is the chart I mentioned above and the missing fields for February. Are they suppressing information or do they release months stats on a lag?

[Yorkshire Tea]

1 minute ago, genericptr said:

Here's a picture. You're right, I don't see any units just a number of "50" but given it's in the green zone I think this is AQI.

No, it's pm2.5!  That's a Xiaomi.  I guess you have it on auto mode.  Don't.  Put it on the heart mode.  That'll give you full power on the fan & should reduce the pm concentration.

 

Download the xiaomi app & connect to your purifier.  You can then control the strength of the fan in heart mode (manual mode), so it won't be so noisy.

 

On auto mode, the fan doesn't kick in to clean the air properly.  i presume this is because it works on Chinese safe AQI levels.  You need that number 051 to be below 35 or lower.  pm2.5 35 conc = AQI of 100, or in the yellow zone on most websites.

[Yorkshire Tea]

If you have the Chinese version of the purifier, & not the Global version, when you install the Xiaomi Home app, tell it you're in mainland China, or the app won't connect to your purifier.

[NorthernRyland]

11 minutes ago, Yorkshire Tea said:

No, it's pm2.5!  That's a Xiaomi.  I guess you have it on auto mode.  Don't.  Put it on the heart mode.  That'll give you full power on the fan & should reduce the pm concentration.

 

Thanks, I try to get the app and play with the fan. I turned it on auto because I found the sound to be loud enough to be intrusive.

 

But my original question still stands, why am I getting these low ratings? http://aqicn.org is showing 150-170 levels but I can't reproduce that with my devices. I also just noticed that humidity is 80% outside so I'm wondering if that's causing the appearance of thick smoke. 

[Yorkshire Tea]

2 minutes ago, genericptr said:

 

 

But my original question still stands, why am I getting these low ratings? http://aqicn.org is showing 150-170 levels but I can't reproduce that with my devices. I also just noticed that humidity is 80% outside so I'm wondering if that's causing the appearance of thick smoke. 

AQICN is showing AQI.  Your devices are showing pm2.5

 

Use the link CharlieH posted to convert pm2,5 to AQI or the other way.

[NorthernRyland]

35 minutes ago, Yorkshire Tea said:

AQICN is showing AQI.  Your devices are showing pm2.5

 

Use the link CharlieH posted to convert pm2,5 to AQI or the other way.

Thanks buddy.

 

So the 150 number on aqicn.org is 55 pm 2.5? That does indeed explain my confusion. So the other PM levels are what gives the "AQI" such a large value? I thought PM 2.5 was the primary issue and that other things were like dust/dirt and not AS concerning. 

 

[PowerKat]

57 minutes ago, Yorkshire Tea said:

 

 

Download the xiaomi app & connect to your purifier.  You can then control the strength of the fan in heart mode (manual mode), so it won't be so noisy.

 

 

The app wants complete access to your phone contacts, location, etc. Plus they want your phone number or Facebook account to register. Very intrusive app for some thing that only controls an air purifier so I deleted it right away. You should check your background apps and Id bet it's always open in the background.