Chiang Mai Air Quality and Pollution

Yorkshire Tea · March 16, 2020

15 minutes ago, SometimezaGreatNotion said:

I'm wondering if I should change my return flight to Chiang Mai (current ticket is to return on March 31) to stay another month here in Krabi (where AQI has been 20 to 50, averages less than 30). Is there any data from the past that predicts when AQI in Chiang Mai will drop below 100?

Last year it was end of May. Depends when prolonged rains arrive.

motdaeng · March 16, 2020

2 hours ago, SometimezaGreatNotion said:

I'm wondering if I should change my return flight to Chiang Mai (current ticket is to return on March 31) to stay another month here in Krabi (where AQI has been 20 to 50, averages less than 30). Is there any data from the past that predicts when AQI in Chiang Mai will drop below 100?

https://aqicn.org/city/thailand/chiangmai---cmis/

elephant45 · March 16, 2020

If you can afford it..YES

orang37 · March 16, 2020

On 3/15/2020 at 3:24 PM, Rasseru said:

<very glad to have escaped Chiangmai and to be breathing clean air in Koh Samui>

Your nose, at that altitude, may need more oxygen to continue chortling.

~o:37;

Cheesekraft · March 16, 2020

will the pollution have any effect if infected with covid?

Sp4wnY · March 16, 2020

We have only got 4 N95 masks left against a pollution that is going to be worse than last years.

Did they not implement quarantine zones last year for people hospitalized from the pollution? Imagine this plus the china virus...

JimmyJ · March 16, 2020

Edited March 16, 2020 by JimmyJ

McTavish · March 17, 2020

16 hours ago, Cheesekraft said:

will the pollution have any effect if infected with covid?

Not unless you self isolate in a tent alongside Loi Kroh road. 55

Try to understand the difference between smoke and smog or smoke haze and chemical emissions. A few kms outside of CNX cbd the pollution is primarily dust particles greater than 2.5pm. Within the cbd and alongside busy roads the real killers are nano particles of CO and NOX.

Over 60 and with existing respiratory problems ppl with Covid 19 may experience further problems due to altitude and dust particles though our dry heat could mitigate the latter.

KrishnaCameb4Buddha · March 18, 2020

aqicn.org says AQI now near Kad Suan Kaew is in 180-250 range approx. 6:50 A.M. Thurs Mar 19, 2020.

It is actually over 999.

My meter only goes to 999.

cerox · March 19, 2020

You need a new meter then 555

Trujillo · March 20, 2020

450 on the porch...this is a new record for here this year. Yippie!

Ron jeremy · March 20, 2020

On February 28, 2020 at 1:51 PM, Ventenio said:

I'm talking about farangs, of course. What farang would get a business in a place with toxic air all year? what farang would get a mortgage or bring kids to toxic air? or put their kids in school?

this is a farang website, of course I'm talking about farangs. Yes, farangs in CM are dumb. really dumb. the dumbest. LOL

Yes, I have a total lack of empathy for farangs who are too weak to leave. Yes, I'm smarter than every single farang who stays in CM. 100%. I'm proud of that.

you think every post on this site is directed at locals if not specified? LOL

I have to agree with ventenio on this one he's nailed it on the head.

the truth hurts!

Edited March 20, 2020 by Ron jeremy

Forza2002 · March 20, 2020

The air pretty bad everywhere today, especially in the city...

HaleySabai · March 20, 2020

Bang on 500 out my door this morning(8am)! that's our record so far this season out here in Mae Rim. The meter balances; 500PM2.5 = 500 AQI.

Not surprised at these numbers considering that massive fire in the hills a few days ago.

Still maintaining good numbers inside the house,under 30, in spite of the s%$t show outside.

One thing about this year is that we are having more wind coming up in the afternoon.

Only 6-days out of 20 this month have been below 150 in the morning and 4 days below 200. But by noon and late afternoon those numbers have drastically reduced,with 15 days below 80 and on the 11th it was as low as 14. All because of wind conditions between 8-17km/hr.

What made last year so extreme was the long periods(wks) of air mass sitting in the doldrums.

I recall the start of it last year on Feb.11 when the "death-cloud" arrived and just enveloped CM there were full days,even weeks of stewing in 200+/300+, just wasn't much relief.

I find this year to be...dare I say 'reasonable'..or in the least, 'tolerable'....so far.

Sure, I'm not out jogging or cycling et.. but I can at least open the back door or do some yard work without much attention to the air and here we are now almost through March. Hopefully it will all be very much on the downside by mid-April.

Yom · March 20, 2020

On 3/19/2020 at 6:57 AM, KrishnaCameb4Buddha said:

My meter only goes to 999.

Hope this helps.

Note: Values above 500 are considered Beyond the AQI.

Additional information on reducing exposure to extremely

high levels of particle pollution is available.

https://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.calculator

*********************

Cristiancjb · March 27, 2020

What apps do you guys use to check the air pollution in your area? I have mainly used AirVisual and the page aqicn.org and they show quite similar levels. However my gf is using an app called AirCMI and the values there are much lower than in any of the other that I mentioned....any idea how it can be so different?

Thailand · March 28, 2020

10 hours ago, Cristiancjb said:

What apps do you guys use to check the air pollution in your area? I have mainly used AirVisual and the page aqicn.org and they show quite similar levels. However my gf is using an app called AirCMI and the values there are much lower than in any of the other that I mentioned....any idea how it can be so different?

Gov sponsored app? ????

Cristiancjb · March 28, 2020

2 hours ago, Thailand said:

Gov sponsored app? ????

Meaning..?

motdaeng · March 28, 2020

14 hours ago, Cristiancjb said:

What apps do you guys use to check the air pollution in your area? I have mainly used AirVisual and the page aqicn.org and they show quite similar levels. However my gf is using an app called AirCMI and the values there are much lower than in any of the other that I mentioned....any idea how it can be so different?

airvisual and aqicn do show AQI.

aircmi shows µg/m3 concentration of pm2.5.

just google to find out the different!

https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.calculator

cardinalblue · March 28, 2020

I pay attention to 2.5 levels....this is the size reaching your lungs and not passing through the sacs...

McTavish · March 28, 2020

2 hours ago, cardinalblue said:

I pay attention to 2.5 levels....this is the size reaching your lungs and not passing through the sacs...

Exactly. 2.5 levels made up of bushfire smoke and dust are nowhere near the harmful levels of nano, or sub 2.5ppm particles, found near busy roads or industrial centres like Kandur, India. The Nano particles DO pass thru onto blood stream.

Far too much emphasis and journalistic <deleted> is spent on reporting CM 2.5 smoke and dust haze.

KrishnaCameb4Buddha · March 29, 2020

AQI is 800 (EIGHT hundred) now, outside my window, near Kad Suan Kaew and Old Town in Chiang Mai now, Sun Mar 29, 2020 at 7:55 AM.

The numbers on aqicn.org, are way off, are way below the actual.

As the day progresses, however, and as the super-thick clouds of smoke dissipates, the numbers given on aqicn.org will start to align with those of my high-quality AQI meter, but only when the numbers get to around 200-300, or maybe 300-400. But when the smoke thickens and the AQI is over 300 and/or 400, then the numbers on aqicn.org "mysteriously" say in the 300-400 range rather than what they *should* be doing: climbing higher and higher, even (the other day) to 999.

Yom · March 29, 2020

3 hours ago, KrishnaCameb4Buddha said:

800 (EIGHT hundred) now, outside my window

Unbelievable.

Have you ever tried a second meter?

https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.pmhilevels

Good inormation.

Cheesekraft · April 5, 2020

Sweet Swede · April 5, 2020

Today Chiang Mai surpassed # 2 (Kyiv) on World most polluted cities ranking with 2,15x higher AQI (392 vs 182). I have been checking and logging the ranking the last 2 months now and Chiang Mai ranking has been as follows. # 1_ 27 days, # 2 _3 days, # 3_3 days, # 4-10_13 days, #11-15_12 days and #16-54_6 days. The competition has mainly been other Asian countries. The authorities say they have engaged forces in the North to prevent and put out fires. But why is it even worse now than before they did that? They also threaten with very high fines and long jail time for law breakers with no effect whatsoever. The Firms Fire Map pinpoint the location of every fire with good accuracy. The people that start the fires normally “control” the fires. So how come so few fire starters are arrested?

With Corona ongoing we are stuck here with no option to travel or else we would go someplace where the air is healthier because living in an almost constant “fog” with a burning taste that result in sore eyes and other unwanted respiratory problems is not my wish and I like to have a break from that in between, even if I have no plan to move elsewhere. However, if this was something that we experience the whole year I will not live here.

Most Thais do not have any choice and they cannot even afford an air purifier that would at least give good air quality in the house so I consider myself privileged. I have checked the AQI outside and in the house several times and it helps to be in a closed house but it only lowers the AQI to some extent and does not make it healthy. At AQI 255 I measured 180 in the CLOSED house and at 173 it measured 136 inside. Living in North of Thailand one air purifier or more is a must part of the year. 2020 is the worst year with regards to air quality the more than two decades I lived here. I am also quite pessimistic that we might experience even worse with the passive and incapable authorities that rule this country.