PCD advises people in Bangkok and suburbs to wear face masks outdoors

[webfact]

PCD advises people in Bangkok and suburbs to wear face masks outdoors

 

 

The Pollution Control Department (PCD) is advising people in Bangkok and its suburbs to wear face masks while they are outdoors as air quality deteriorates, with 28 areas found to have excessive amounts of PM2.5 dust particles today.

 

The department says that the poor air quality will remain for the next three days, due to heavy traffic and low atmospheric pressure over Bangkok and its surrounding areas, meaning fine dust particles are not being dispersed.

 

Readings from 72 PCD and BMA air quality monitoring stations this morning show the levels of PM2.5 dust particles in Bangkok and its suburbs ranging from 35-68 microns, against the standard level of 50 microns.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/pcd-advises-people-in-bangkok-and-suburbs-to-wear-face-masks-outdoors/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2020-01-07

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[unamazedloso]

Rubbish measurments again! I urge government to admit they dont care and are lying with fake news of measurments that are clearly wrong.

Wearing masks can make it more dangerous if people arent educated. Have to be pm2.5 masks and changed almost daily and not used for long periods of time. Natural bacteria from mouth and around accumulate not to mention your rebreathing more carbon and stank!

Stop the fires idiots and stop wasting peoples time!! Be easier and can profit from fines or even take back land for repeat offenders. Make jails bigger and life better for those out of it!!

[rheinwiese]

PCD takes the 24h average.

Hence, the numbers appear not so shocking.

Real time peak levels this morning in BKK: AQI 164 - PM2.5 81.4 µg/m³, some districts even worse.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

20 minutes ago, rheinwiese said:

PCD takes the 24h average.

Hence, the numbers appear not so shocking.

Real time peak levels this morning in BKK: AQI 164 - PM2.5 81.4 µg/m³, some districts even worse.

 Yes, but the flip side of that is, the air outside right now mid afternoon in BKK is pretty good.... Morning and overnight terrible, Noon to afternoon good... Same pattern the past couple days. The PCD's 24 hour average numbers and their warnings mask those details, for better or worse.

 

 

 

If anyone relies on the PCD's own reporting and the Thai news reports that rely on it, they'd be wrong a good portion of the time -- except when pollution levels remain constant and unchanging throughout 24 hour cycles, which usually doesn't happen.

 

 

[SoilSpoil]

The air quality in Hua Hin is also terrible lately. Maybe the sugarcane farmers in the west of Thailand are harvesting. A problem that could be easily solved.

[dinsdale]

A: You need a high quality N95 mask. B: If not fitted properly it's useless and a perfect fit is not easy. Again industry (a significant contributor) is not mentioned as part of the cause. Where I am, just outside of BKK, which ever direction you look there is a low, nasty brown haze. Pollution monitoring and issuence of significant fines to polluting industries will never happen due to kickbacks to officials. 

[legend49]

Maybe TAT can hand out free masks at the arrivals airports to all the millions of tourists arriving, welcoming them to Amazing Thailand?

[klauskunkel]

52 minutes ago, legend49 said:

welcoming them to Amazing Thailand?

Breathless Thailand

[Tops]

The wife had her car washed last Thursday. Last Monday it was already covered with a layer of dust that you would think the car was never washed in a few years. In those 4 days, she only drove about 50 km through Bangkok. For the rest it was parked outside the house in Din Daeng.

Edited January 8, 2020 by Tops

[mickey rat]

16 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Yes, but the flip side of that is, the air outside right now mid afternoon in BKK is pretty good...

LOL! ???? 

[brewsterbudgen]

It's just how it is.  We have to live with it - masks and air purifiers make little difference.  At least it's not as bad as Delhi.

[Jimbo2014]

If you check the map its all over Thailand.  This is because the government refuses to stop the crop burning.  They refuse to move Thailand away from Cheap Nasty diesel.  They are powerless and lack any incentive to properly monitor industrial pollution and vehicles.  Now the water is undrinkable, the air is unbreathable.  What sort of hopeless terrible government allows this to happen just for rampant greed.  Dont they realise its their children too?

[brewsterbudgen]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo2014 said:

If you check the map its all over Thailand.  This is because the government refuses to stop the crop burning.  They refuse to move Thailand away from Cheap Nasty diesel.  They are powerless and lack any incentive to properly monitor industrial pollution and vehicles.  Now the water is undrinkable, the air is unbreathable.  What sort of hopeless terrible government allows this to happen just for rampant greed.  Dont they realise its their children too?

True, although it's hardly a uniquely Thai problem.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

True, although it's hardly a uniquely Thai problem.

 

Yet, there are places that have greatly improved their local air pollution problems.... by....

 

--imposing meaningful regulations on industrial and other source pollution.

--reformulating vehicle and truck fuels to be less polluting.

--converting truck and other heavy vehicles fuels to natural gas

--adopting mandatory vehicle emissions inspection programs whereby excessively polluting vehicles must be repaired or taken out of service.

--and here locally, of course, it would mean seriously tackling the agricultural burning/municipal waste burning problems.

etc etc etc.

 

But none of that is going to come voluntarily from the end users / polluters. It takes the local government to mandate and seriously enforce such things in order for them to happen.  And sadly, it seems there's little hope of that happening here with the current regime.

Edited January 8, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It's just how it is.  We have to live with it - masks and air purifiers make little difference.  

 

You keep saying such things, which are demonstrably false. And you never explain your basis for making such false claims... Why???

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

PCD advises people in Bangkok and suburbs to wear face masks outdoors

I wonder if T.A.T included that in the 2020 brochure or Airbnb have that on their booking websites?

[rkidlad]

When was it that they closed the schools for a couple of days? I remember they closed the schools and sprayed water in the air like it was job done. Pollution problem over. The pollution this week has been worse than it was then.

 

This isn't a problem you can make info-boards for and announce you'll have it gone in a few days. This is a very serious problem that you can see and feel everyday. 

Edited January 9, 2020 by rkidlad