Chiang Mai Air Quality and Pollution

[Rinrada]

Definately a bit woofy...smelly....tasty... when I drove down to our shop tonight...in Bann saha K....ugg.. Dont expect any tourists soon...last westerners..farang..Chinese ..Korean..in fact non Thais was over 2 years ago..but our locals are good..krup...small income better than none..chai..

 

[Thailand]

Forecast showing rain for most days next week so hopefully will blow it all away for another year.

[TheFishman1]

Chiang Mai air Well today Chiang Mai is number one we’re having the worst air in the whole world this seems to happen year after year and no one does anything about it TiT

[1FinickyOne]

For the most part, this cold and rainy hot season, AQI has been pretty good... where were you then? Or are you of the few that have some need to belittle when things are bad... I just checked and a reading of 164 today... 

 

so, I will turn on the air filter inside for 10minutes and the reading in my office and bedroom will drop... 

[0james0]

The smoke isn’t really bothering me this year maybe because there hasn’t been a 10 day run of 43C. It’s been rather nice for me though I prefer the rainy season 

[setbkk]

Sorry, you cannot claim the title for the worst air in the world at present.  Many parts of northern India much worse.  Check waqi.info

[scubascuba3]

Exactly, happens every year so move if it's a problem

[chilly07]

Been bad for a week and coincides with slight south easterly winds blowing north across gulf of Thailand backing up all round polution across Chonburi Bangkok and all points north bouncing off the hills surrounding CM. You can see and smell the resultant haze everywhere which is a mix of smoke exhaust fumes and ozone 

[TheFishman1]

[TheFishman1]

This morning at seven Chiang Mai was number one now at 3 PM it’s dropped to number three Great Improvement TIT

[VocalNeal]

Worse in Chiang Rai. No one from there complaining.

[rumak]

Just now, VocalNeal said:

Worse in Chiang Rai. No one from there complaining.

all dead 

[Unify]

On 11/12/2019 at 9:43 AM, SoilSpoil said:

Thw whole country, even Phuket, are in orange or red. Thailand us sucking up its own air pollution.

Phuket Town is 59 aqi as I type, and has mostly remained in the yellow or green zones last few times I checked. 

 

As for all these pictures of pristine mountaintops -- you can see the gray in the air as you look out over the distance. I can generally tell in the city, when the aqi is high by how quickly the gray appears in the distance. If you have a meter reading that says it's good, that will convince me. Just because you see white fuzzy clouds and blue sky doesn't mean it's good air.

 

Air pollution Is a risk for stroke and heart disease as well as the more obvious lung cancer and emphysema.

 

One of the reasons I moved from Chiang Mai is that the air is not that great, even when it's not burning season, with the exception of immediately after a hard rain. I didn't like the risk factor over 10-15 years.

[Gazzelle]

On 11/13/2019 at 12:32 PM, Bill97 said:

What is your area?  I would like to know so I can avoid it and the farangs who reside there.

 Non caring bad attitude people like are being described here, don’t deserve to be in a place like Thailand with not appreciating it for what it is for the expats like myself (I know that there are many others, like minded) who just want to live here and enjoy Thailand for what it is!

 

People who complain about everything all the time will never be happy, I read many on here who  just complain all the time. Why waste your breath and still stay here?

 

Once you’ve been back in your country of origin for at least 3 months then post your true feelings?

[Tarteso]

2 hours ago, Gazzelle said:

 Non caring bad attitude people like are being described here, don’t deserve to be in a place like Thailand with not appreciating it for what it is for the expats like myself (I know that there are many others, like minded) who just want to live here and enjoy Thailand for what it is!

 

People who complain about everything all the time will never be happy, I read many on here who  just complain all the time. Why waste your breath and still stay here?

 

Once you’ve been back in your country of origin for at least 3 months then post your true feelings?

That is a valid but subjective opinion. There are not only expats who just want to live and enjoy Thailand for what it is. There are others who have been living in Thailand for a decade, where they have invested all their savings, have started a family, have a house, cars, motorcycles, children at school, businesses, land, farm… And speaking of pollution;  they observe how the air they breathe deteriorates, they criticize the Government's lack of action for not having the capacity or authority to solve a problem as easy as controlling and prohibiting fires.  It is not easy to leave a country, believe me.  Unless you are an expat living alone in a rented room with a suitcase and enjoying Thailand for what it is.  It should not be generalized.

[SoilSpoil]

3 hours ago, Unify said:

Phuket Town is 59 aqi as I type, and has mostly remained in the yellow or green zones last few times I checked. 

 

As for all these pictures of pristine mountaintops -- you can see the gray in the air as you look out over the distance. I can generally tell in the city, when the aqi is high by how quickly the gray appears in the distance. If you have a meter reading that says it's good, that will convince me. Just because you see white fuzzy clouds and blue sky doesn't mean it's good air.

 

Air pollution Is a risk for stroke and heart disease as well as the more obvious lung cancer and emphysema.

 

One of the reasons I moved from Chiang Mai is that the air is not that great, even when it's not burning season, with the exception of immediately after a hard rain. I didn't like the risk factor over 10-15 years.

I also moved from the North to Phuket for air quality reasons. But when the winds come from the north, and when the sugar came farmers in Central Thailand, or even Cambodia are burning, also Phuket suffers poor air quality. PM 2.5 particles can travel quite a distance. Good thing is, that 95% of the days the air is crisp and clean. Best air quality in the country can be found in Kapong, deep in Phang Nga province. This is where the Andaman and Gulf air circulations collide. But that's too far from the beach.

[SoilSpoil]

3 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

That is a valid but subjective opinion. There are not only expats who just want to live and enjoy Thailand for what it is. There are others who have been living in Thailand for a decade, where they have invested all their savings, have started a family, have a house, cars, motorcycles, children at school, businesses, land, farm… And speaking of pollution;  they observe how the air they breathe deteriorates, they criticize the Government's lack of action for not having the capacity or authority to solve a problem as easy as controlling and prohibiting fires.  It is not easy to leave a country, believe me.  Unless you are an expat living alone in a rented room with a suitcase and enjoying Thailand for what it is.  It should not be generalized.

A lot of my Thai friends check the air qiality every single day, complain a lot about it and even plan accordingly. On bad days, they stay indoors with filters running. There are a lot of sore dipsticks on this forum who will tell uou not to talk or complain about the air quality. It's tradition.  The 'if you dont like it, you better leave brigade'. In all their arrogance, or ignorance, they believe that Thai are sheep, have no opinions, and only foreigners complain. Most Thais hate the poor air quality, but cant change the 'system' where farmers pay the police a 500 baht fine and just keep burning their fields. Very big and well connected companies benefit from this status quo. 

[JimmyJ]

15 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Worse in Chiang Rai. No one from there complaining.

Your point?

[JimmyJ]

14 hours ago, Gazzelle said:

 Non caring bad attitude people like are being described here, don’t deserve to be in a place like Thailand with not appreciating it for what it is for the expats like myself (I know that there are many others, like minded) who just want to live here and enjoy Thailand for what it is!

 

People who complain about everything all the time will never be happy, I read many on here who  just complain all the time. Why waste your breath and still stay here?

 

Once you’ve been back in your country of origin for at least 3 months then post your true feelings?

Translation of this and similar posts - 

 

Don't make me acknowledge and confront the dangers to my life

due to the hazardous air quality here.

If I ignore it, I will be fine.

[JimmyJ]

Chiang Mai city right now - 

 

I'm getting pm2.5 readings of 64 to 75, which is AQI 155 to 161.

 

Red Zone.

[DezLez]

20 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Chiang Mai city right now - 

 

I'm getting pm2.5 readings of 64 to 75, which is AQI 155 to 161.

 

Red Zone.

Why do we need updated of your and possibly everybody's AQI readings?

If anyone wants to know the AQI readings in their, or your location, all they have to do is look it up themselves.  If they are reading AN then they can read their own AQI's!

[VocalNeal]

2 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Your point?

It can't be as bad as some people assert.

[actonion]

The  Thai Prime Minister was in Scotland recently  at a  Global warming meeting, he vowed to do something  about the air quality in Thailand..

 

Looks like  he has'nt started yet or ....

[Thailand]

On 4/15/2022 at 9:14 AM, actonion said:

The  Thai Prime Minister was in Scotland recently  at a  Global warming meeting, he vowed to do something  about the air quality in Thailand..

 

Looks like  he has'nt started yet or ....

They will form a committee!

[JimmyJ]

3 hours ago, Thailand said:

They will form a committee!

Hopefully the committee will propose a resolution, and vote on it early next year.

 

Progress!

[VocalNeal]

Some people complain they can't see the mountains. Yet others go to places like Magic Mount or Phu Chi Fa so they can wake early and look out across the top of the clouds in the valley. The same clouds/mist/moisture that obscure the view in the valleys. ????

 

Shorten our lives? How do we know how long we will live.  

[0james0]

Here in the north most of the smoke comes in from neighboring countries, little the Thai government can do about that.

 

+1 on the complaining of complaints, it does get excessive and a bit nit picky at times and much out of ignorance and certainly little anyone here on the forum can do anything about it except complain complain 55

 

Live and roll with it. If one is uncomfortable here then I’m sure there’s other options ????

[Tarteso]

Living in a village North CM many years, looking at neighbors farmer, how they burn their forest, farms, plastics trash and whatever they want, and seeing the passivity of authority, your comment is a simplicity and show absolute ignorance.

 

Are this fire today coming from China? ????

[orang37]

2 hours ago, 0james0 said:

Here in the north most of the smoke comes in from neighboring countries, little the Thai government can do about that.

How many pictures of burning mountain ridges and fields on this thread do you need to see: the major source of seasonal air pollution in northern Thailand is ... northern Thailand. Yes, there are occasional major contributions from other areas depending on changes in winds.

 

~o:37;

[novacova]

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

Living in a village North CM many years, looking at neighbors farmer, how they burn their forest, farms, plastics trash and whatever they want, and seeing the passivity of authority, your comment is a simplicity and show absolute ignorance.

 

Are this fire today coming from China? ????

Yeah right, the wind doesn’t cross borders. It’s just swirling around in village, right?

 

CM is in a valley where smoke gets trapped in. A lot of burning January through March in the northern Thai provinces where the government has some control. Not to mention lightning caused fires that do tend to smolder for months then flare up when it gets hot, what exactly can the government do about that?? Cambodia, Myanmar free to burn. It’s a heck of a lot of smoke coming in from those regions and china as well. Unless of course where you live, where the weather stays local and the weather map is never updated 

 

Smoke from fires in China has reached as far as the western US