Thai protesters demand action as air pollution clouds Bangkok

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

 

Environmental activists rally to demand rights to clean air, near the Thai Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, as the country struggles to contain worsening air pollution January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Dozens of activists held a rare protest on Thursday over air pollution in Bangkok, a day after Thai officials closed schools due to concern over the impact.

 

Levels of air pollution in the capital, the world’s most visited city, have hovered at unhealthy levels over the past month - over 100 on the air quality index.

 

The index breached the 151 threshold seen as dangerously unhealthy for the general public late last week, and continued to climb until it hit 163 on Monday, according to monitor AirVisual.

Schools were closed for the day on Wednesday, and by Thursday the index dropped back to 121.

 

The activists, wearing pollution masks, said they were marching to the Government House because of authorities’ inaction.

 

“Air pollution affects everyone ... it is life and death for all of us,” said Tara Buakamsri, Thailand director for environmental group Greenpeace, as cars and motorcycles sped by emitting smoke.

 

Particles found in dust, soot and smoke and small enough to lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, known as PM 2.5, were measured at unhealthy levels for 23 of the past 30 days in Bangkok, data from AirVisual showed.

 

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said healthy people such as himself could manage and those in risky groups should be aware of their tolerance levels and wear masks.

His comment angered some of the activists.

 

“Pushing the burden on the people like this is not something an efficient government would do,” said Chonlatorn Wongrussamee, one of the protesters.

 

Tara said protecting the environment and health did not damage economic development but went hand in hand with it at the demonstration, which the activists said was the first such protest in two years.

 

When they reached the government headquarters, a senior official in the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, Nopadol Phonsen, came out to speak to them, telling them officials were meeting to discuss measures to tackle the issue.

 

“We’re all under the same sky. We want the air we breathe to be clean and healthy,” he said.

 

The city’s last moderate air quality day, when the index was between 51 and 100, was Jan 4., and there has been no “good” air reading in the past 30 days, according to AirVisual data.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-23

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Dont worry, the PM said its fine????????

 

good on you guys anyway!????

First thing they need to do is tackle the farmers and the burn offs,this is the major contribution to the bad air quality.Taking into count  that for 7 to 8 months of the year the air quality is acceptable. It’s only when the farmers  start their <deleted> it gets really unhealthy.

Next thing would be to tackle the trucks and buses,and other forms of public transport. Start looking at electric tuk tuks etc.

Then start on private vehicles,cars,pickups,and motorcycles over ten years old need to pass strict emission controls before the rego is allowed to be renewed.

It will not be a quick fix,but you need to start in the right place,private vehicles are not the main contributor to the bad air quality. 

 

Calm down, the government has proposed 12 measures, tomorrow the pm 2.5 will be down to normal.

3 hours ago, Titan1962 said:

First thing they need to do is tackle the farmers and the burn offs,this is the major contribution to the bad air quality.Taking into count  that for 7 to 8 months of the year the air quality is acceptable. It’s only when the farmers  start their <deleted> it gets really unhealthy.

Next thing would be to tackle the trucks and buses,and other forms of public transport. Start looking at electric tuk tuks etc.

Then start on private vehicles,cars,pickups,and motorcycles over ten years old need to pass strict emission controls before the rego is allowed to be renewed.

It will not be a quick fix,but you need to start in the right place,private vehicles are not the main contributor to the bad air quality. 

 

Exactly! The farmers are the main cause that we have this issue every year at this time. But they just will not face the root of the problem.

I sadly say they all got there on black smog gut belching buses

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said healthy people such as himself could manage and those in risky groups should be aware of their tolerance levels and wear masks.

His comment angered some of the activists.

 

What's that old saying, "ignorance is bliss", how stupid can this guy be ? ? ?, forget I asked that.

 

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Tara said protecting the environment and health did not damage economic development but went hand in hand with it at the demonstration, which the activists said was the first such protest in two years.

The first in two years, um....perhaps they should be doing a few more, monthly perhaps, get the kids on the streets with masks too, that should hit a few nerves.

 

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The index breached the 151 threshold seen as dangerously unhealthy for the general public late last week, and continued to climb until it hit 163 on Monday, according to monitor AirVisual.

Schools were closed for the day on Wednesday, and by Thursday the index dropped back to 121.

If you think that is high, the PM2.5 at 7.00am here in Issan yesterday was 163 "flashing red", so it's pretty much all over the place, and as long as Prayut allows the sugar cane factories to accept burnt sugar cane crops, nothing is going to change, i.e. there should be a total ban on burnt sugar grain crops, and a hefty fine of 10,000,000 baht for any factory breaching such an order, but we all know it isn't going to happen unless the masses rise to try and bring about change, then you will have the "enforcement" issue, where no one does anything, hence the reason they burn, burn, burn. 

 

I hate taking the kids to school with all of this $hit in the air, not good, and apart from a good quality air purifier, indoor plants, monitors, we can't protect from what's out there.

Edited January 24, 20206 yr by 4MyEgo

With luck this will lead to a tackling of the problem throughout the Kingdom.

Last year Chiang Mai was the worlds most polluted city time and again, nothing was done.

Lets hope we can all have clean air.

Here the air has improved, still unbreathable but according to my app about 60 points below yesterday's level, at the moment "only" 97 microns 2.5!

How is it possible that some greedy farmers are allowed to pollute and intoxicate nearly all of Thailands population ... and the government does nothing against it except " propositions on how to tackle the problem " . The burning goes on for years already , people get sick and fed up because of that .

May be instead of paying billions for useless submarines and other military gadgets , they should finance some sugarcane harvesters for every province that are used by all sugar cane plantations , one after the other ...?

A government that does not protect the people from the easily avoidable smog that is caused by the burning , is not worth to be named " government " , because it does not do what it should do .

They are so concerned about ' losing their face ' ... do they ever reckon how much of their precious ' face ' is lost due to their incompetence ...?

Sure to be a committee set up to propose a sub committee to propose a solution anytime now ????

8 hours ago, khunpa said:

Exactly! The farmers are the main cause that we have this issue every year at this time. But they just will not face the root of the problem.

Well, they don’t want to lose the votes.  Remember that Over 50% of the population lives in rural areas. And frankly these people don’t give a &$@? what happens in Bangkok.  Also, they lack the education and understanding regarding the danger they are doing to themselves ... they have been doing this way since the year get go.

17 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

How is it possible that some greedy farmers

I see a solution .. But it will not please you ..
We put all the "greedy farmers" in prison or better put them against a wall to shoot them.

Except that your "greedy farmers" do not only grow sugar cane but also rice and vegetables and fruits (full to the brim with pesticides, I know).
It doesn't matter, does it? (May pen rai), you will replace them 10 or 12 hours a day under a scorching sun if you want to eat.

 

Do you like it as a solution? 

I flew to Udon Thani yesterday afternoon.

The pollution very bad and actually darkness due to the blockage of the sun from particulates.

 

Many fields on fire!!!!

 

There ya go!

6 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

Well, they don’t want to lose the votes.  Remember that Over 50% of the population lives in rural areas.

 

We see that you do not know Thailand;
hopefully maybe 1% of the farmers voted for the ruling junta.
All of Isaan and northern Thailand have voted for many years for Thaksin or those who replaced him; and this year many peasants voted for Future Forward

6 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

How is it possible that some greedy farmers are allowed to pollute and intoxicate nearly all of Thailands population ... and the government does nothing against it except " propositions on how to tackle the problem " . The burning goes on for years already , people get sick and fed up because of that .

May be instead of paying billions for useless submarines and other military gadgets , they should finance some sugarcane harvesters for every province that are used by all sugar cane plantations , one after the other ...?

A government that does not protect the people from the easily avoidable smog that is caused by the burning , is not worth to be named " government " , because it does not do what it should do .

They are so concerned about ' losing their face ' ... do they ever reckon how much of their precious ' face ' is lost due to their incompetence ...?

 

No it's not incompetence, it's greed. ????????????

 

46 minutes ago, 30la said:

Here the air has improved, still unbreathable but according to my app about 60 points below yesterday's level, at the moment "only" 97 microns 2.5!

Only 97? Wow, that's fantastic! ????

1 minute ago, Assurancetourix said:

I see a solution .. But it will not please you ..
We put all the "greedy farmers" in prison or better put them against a wall to shoot them.

Except that your "greedy farmers" do not only grow sugar cane but also rice and vegetables and fruits (full to the brim with pesticides, I know).
It doesn't matter, does it? (May pen rai), you will replace them 10 or 12 hours a day under a scorching sun if you want to eat.

 

Do you like it as a solution? 

What is that BS ...?

 

The solution is mechanical harvesting of sugar cane as I have said .

 

" ---> better put them against a wall to shoot them ...< --- are you mad or think that is funny ?

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said healthy people such as himself could manage and those in risky groups should be aware of their tolerance levels and wear masks.

What an arrogagant **** this man is!

10 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

I see a solution .. But it will not please you ..
We put all the "greedy farmers" in prison or better put them against a wall to shoot them.

Except that your "greedy farmers" do not only grow sugar cane but also rice and vegetables and fruits (full to the brim with pesticides, I know).
It doesn't matter, does it? (May pen rai), you will replace them 10 or 12 hours a day under a scorching sun if you want to eat.

 

Do you like it as a solution? 

In this topic we talk about air pollution caused by the burning of sugar cane .

We do not talk about rice or fruit farmers , as fruit farmers do not burn their trees after the harvest ... do they ...?

Apprenez a lire , mon cher monsieur ...

18 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

I see a solution .. But it will not please you ..
We put all the "greedy farmers" in prison or better put them against a wall to shoot them.

Except that your "greedy farmers" do not only grow sugar cane but also rice and vegetables and fruits (full to the brim with pesticides, I know).
It doesn't matter, does it? (May pen rai), you will replace them 10 or 12 hours a day under a scorching sun if you want to eat.

 

Do you like it?

Most rice, corn and sugar is exported anyway, and food can be imported for a couple of years (see Makro), so yes put all the fire bugs in prison if you need to. Or even better, confiscate their lands for 5 or 10 years. 

 

Nothing, and I mean nothing, justifies the yearly 40,000 premature deaths because of the smog. You burn, you endanger peoples lives.

Dozens? Not exactly a big turn out. The irony being most of them will either have family or themselves burn trash. 

4 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

In this topic we talk about air pollution caused by the burning of sugar cane .

We do not talk about rice or fruit farmers

Learn to understand how the world of rurality in Thailand works.
I have lived there for 14 years, 365 days a year.

Farmers who have cane and burn it cane because they have small areas of cane as well as small areas of sticky rice (about 70%) and white rice (the rest 30%) for personal consumption ; they sell none or very little to wholesalers;
and they also have vegetable gardens and orchards and sometimes one or two large water holes to eat fish ...

So if you ask them to stop burning their canes and their rice fields, they will answer you;
" A panni problem " ( it's creole language ), you come to cut the cane with your little muscular arms under a scorching sun and if a scorpion or a snake bites you, you shut your mouth and you don't cry ..

 

Or else you are rich and you do not know what to do with your gold, and you buy from them the materials necessary for cutting cane;
has about 5 to 6 million baht per device plus the big tractors with the clamps that go well with ...

Come take a tour in Isaan you will see that even in the "rich" villages there is still very little mechanization;
some tractors of 34 CV, rare harvesters and still many tillers from 10 to 14 CV;
and unfortunately none agricultural workers to work in the fields because they left for Taiwan or Japan or Israel to pick up oranges 

27 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

I see a solution .. But it will not please you ..
We put all the "greedy farmers" in prison or better put them against a wall to shoot them.

Except that your "greedy farmers" do not only grow sugar cane but also rice and vegetables and fruits (full to the brim with pesticides, I know).
It doesn't matter, does it? (May pen rai), you will replace them 10 or 12 hours a day under a scorching sun if you want to eat.

 

Do you like it as a solution? 

What a ridiculous assertion. Reductio ad absurdum only makes you look absurd. Do all countries in the world burn sugar cane as a mode of harvest? In any case, given the current account surplus, Thailand can always import.

1 minute ago, malathione said:

Do all countries in the world burn sugar cane as a mode of harvest?

Much more than you think;
even in Florida in the USA this is how they practice;
but I guess you didn't know that.

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“Pushing the burden on the people like this is not something an efficient government would do,” said Chonlatorn Wongrussamee, one of the protesters.

You've hit the nail-on-the-head "this government isn't in place for the people, it's out for itself"!

12 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

So if you ask them to stop burning their canes and their rice fields, they will answer you;
" A panni problem " ( it's creole language ), you come to cut the cane with your little muscular arms under a scorching sun and if a scorpion or a snake bites you, you shut your mouth and you don't cry ..

I say it again : the government should invest in mechanical sugar cane harvesters , that should be supplied to every province and go from farm to farm , one after another , to do the harvesting without producing toxic smoke .

That would certainly be a better investment for the country than submarines ... got it ?

 

You say : " So if you ask them to stop burning their canes and their rice fields, they will answer you;
" A panni problem " ( it's creole language ), " .... ?

 

AFAIK thai farmers do not speak ' creole ' ...

Edited January 24, 20206 yr by nobodysfriend

12 hours ago, Titan1962 said:

First thing they need to do is tackle the farmers and the burn offs,this is the major contribution to the bad air quality.Taking into count  that for 7 to 8 months of the year the air quality is acceptable. It’s only when the farmers  start their <deleted> it gets really unhealthy.

Next thing would be to tackle the trucks and buses,and other forms of public transport. Start looking at electric tuk tuks etc.

Then start on private vehicles,cars,pickups,and motorcycles over ten years old need to pass strict emission controls before the rego is allowed to be renewed.

It will not be a quick fix,but you need to start in the right place,private vehicles are not the main contributor to the bad air quality. 

 

Very good points but the problem is that the very first thing you need to tackle is the rampant corruption and the massive ineffectual police force who do nothing.  You can have all the intents and laws in place but without those two issues addressed it seems nothing gets done or enforced. ????

8 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

I say it again : the government should invest

 

" should " But it doesn't; look at hotchilli's answer above

8 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

AFAIK thai farmers do not speak ' creole ' ..

but me  I speak it a little bit 

This is a good thing. The people need to rise up, against the do nothing administration. You guys do nothing but take from us, and you give nothing back. You are not needed, you are not wanted, and you are despised by the people. Get out. Get out now. Prayuth, you need to resign immediately. You have failed your people.

Best way to start...regime change.