Chiang Mai launches measures to control forest fires

[stephenterry]

1 minute ago, worgeordie said:

I Have been posting the same thing for a few years now,they need the Police,Army and

any volunteers up in the hills and forests to catch any  arsonists, and make an example

of them to show they are serious at stopping this burning every year ,once again it is them

that are late...It's not like they don't know when and where it's going to happen.

regards worgeordie

Corruption? Monetary favours? Or just intransigence by the governor? As I posted before - unless BKK officialdom order the governor or risk losing his job to prevent this happening, it will carry on.

[cardinalblue]

Ant,

 

here is the problem on how you manipulate numbers...AP is absolute so who gives a rat’s ass in comparing it to Korat or another city...one only cares about where they live in one place here and now...CM

 

should only use PM 2.5 numbers as that is the number which has the most impact on a human being on the ability to breathe and function

 

since November 30th, CM has had when one day repeat one day in the last four months where the daily ave for CM was less than 50 for PM 2.5....under 50 is ranked as good...anything over 50 and Is  labeled as moderate to unhealthy to very unhealthy to dangerous as the number rises...

 

that means at risk sub populations are adversely affected every day for the last 4 months and the majority’ of the general population is adversely affected majority of those four months...

 

it is irresponsible to say CM only has bad air for three months (actually 4 so far)  of the year...you haven’t even counted April and May which historically will bump it up to six months of the year where CM cannot meet their own artificial standard of 50 (implying good air)....

 

By skewing the numbers in over a year, it’s like saying we only have an earthquake one day a year...who cares that it killed a 100,000 people that day it hit...

 

CM citizens need to demand good air defined by PM 2.5 readings Under 50 (really should be under 25) 365 days a year repeat 365 days a year 

 

Don't distort and dilute the critical numbers when absolute (below 50 every and each day) is the necessary requirement not some worthless relative average comparison.

[Odysseus123]

So..in a nutshell..

 

A bunch of fools start fires on one side of the mountain whilst another bunch endeavours to put them out on the downward slope.

[rebelplatoon]

Too little,  too late. 

Lots of ways to stop it before it happens. But just let it be impossible to live first. 

 

Forbid the sale of mushrooms (hed thob) and jail culprits with quick justice, no court case needed, set up rapid response teams. 

[Dogbarker]

Besides the action being at least 2 months to late it is noticeable it was made on April 1.. coincidence?

[Antonymous]

16 hours ago, cardinalblue said:

Ant,

 

here is the problem on how you manipulate numbers...AP is absolute so who gives a rat’s ass in comparing it to Korat or another city...one only cares about where they live in one place here and now...CM

 

should only use PM 2.5 numbers as that is the number which has the most impact on a human being on the ability to breathe and function

 

since November 30th, CM has had when one day repeat one day in the last four months where the daily ave for CM was less than 50 for PM 2.5....under 50 is ranked as good...anything over 50 and Is  labeled as moderate to unhealthy to very unhealthy to dangerous as the number rises...

 

that means at risk sub populations are adversely affected every day for the last 4 months and the majority’ of the general population is adversely affected majority of those four months...

 

it is irresponsible to say CM only has bad air for three months (actually 4 so far)  of the year...you haven’t even counted April and May which historically will bump it up to six months of the year where CM cannot meet their own artificial standard of 50 (implying good air)....

 

By skewing the numbers in over a year, it’s like saying we only have an earthquake one day a year...who cares that it killed a 100,000 people that day it hit...

 

CM citizens need to demand good air defined by PM 2.5 readings Under 50 (really should be under 25) 365 days a year repeat 365 days a year 

 

Don't distort and dilute the critical numbers when absolute (below 50 every and each day) is the necessary requirement not some worthless relative average comparison.

Cardinalblue I feel compelled to respond to your post in case other people reading this thread now and in the future become as confused as you evidently are about the air pollution in Thailand.

 

I have no wish to argue with you. I'll just give the facts while addressing the points you have raised.

 

1. None of the data in my post is manipulated. Every statistic is taken directly from the IQAir (Airvisual) website. Note that all the data i have quoted relates to PM2.5, not to AQI.

 

2. Perhaps it is true that most people care only about the air quality in the place that they live and not about the air quality within the 30 or so provinces that suffer every year. People are like that. But you shouldn't assume that the only people who read this thread live in Chiang Mai. I am sure that people living in Korat, or Khon Kaen, or Chiang Rai, or Sukhothai or any of the other badly affected places 'give a rat's ass' about where they live too.

 

3. You have claimed air quality stats for Chiang Mai since November, but haven't shown where those stats come from. Please back up your claim with a reputable source.

 

4. I agree that it would be irresponsible to make claims that are untrue, not backed up by facts. So here is the data for Chiang Mai from AirVisual for 2019. Note that the three months of Feb, March and April are classified as 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' and 'Unhealthy'. If you care to study you'll find other cities and regions of Thailand had these two categories for four and five months in 2019.

 

5. I agree with you that CM citizens AND the 34 million citizens in other cities and regions of Thailand, some of which, clearly, are worse hit than Chiang Mai, need to demand good air quality. this is precisely what I have been advocating in this and many other threads on TV.

 

6. And finally, I have not distorted or diluted any numbers.

 

 

 

 

 

[Forza2002]

The spiel that the deputy governor came out with a few days ago has made zero difference to the poor air quality. Usual lip service to the press/TV to make it look like they are actually doing something. As evidenced by the daily AQI readings, nothing has changed. Roll on the rain it's the only thing that is going to save us and our lungs. The local authorities clearly aren't in control of the situation.

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2020 by Forza2002

[Forza2002]

Another beautiful day in Chiang Mai, NOT...

[SmartyMarty]

Ant, you've missed the point entirely. It's not about CM being the most polluted city in the world over a 12 month period.......it's about it being the most polluted city over a period of several months.....year after year after year. And nothing ever gets done about it.

[Antonymous]

1 hour ago, SmartyMarty said:

Ant, you've missed the point entirely. It's not about CM being the most polluted city in the world over a 12 month period.......it's about it being the most polluted city over a period of several months.....year after year after year. And nothing ever gets done about it.

 

I believe we are on the same side SmartyMarty. I have not missed the point.

 

Firstly, AirVisual only lists MAJOR cities in its 'most polluted' list, which appears to be only Bangkok and Chiang Mai within Thailand. Yet they also have stats on many other towns within Thailand not listed in the 'Most polluted' rogues gallery. Because of this, Chiang Mai gets quoted (and makes the headlines) when on many occasions there are many other towns in Thailand that have higher PM2.5. Chiang Mai thereby gets demonised in the press and in the minds of people who are not aware of this. Next time you read that CM is the No.1, just check out the PM2.5 AT THAT SAME TIME (such as 0800 when the reading is posted) in other places such as Chiang Rai, Phrae, Lampang, Nan, Sukhothai, Khon Khaen, etc, etc. Why is this important? Because we need to be aware that this is a problem that affects a vast area of Thailand and that up to 34 million people living in the affected areas are at risk. Unfortunately too many people are led to believe that it is just a 'Chiang Mai' problem, thus minimising the issue.

 

Secondly you must be aware that the PM2.5 readings change throughout any 24 hour period. A reading taken at 0800 (which I have noticed AirVisual tend to do) is usually the highest of the day. Typically in Chiang Mai the number drops rapidly thereafter through the day (there are exceptions, but that is the general rule). I take readings all through the day with my PM2.5 monitor plugged in all the time. A reading of 250 at 0800 can drop to 120 by noon and 40 by 1500 FOR EXAMPLE. So again, it is misleading to say 'Chiang Mai Most Polluted' when in fact this might apply for only a short period on any given day. Now this is Chiang Mai. There are other towns with different conditions where the PM2.5 behaves differently, remaining more constant. Just for the sake of argument let's say 120 morning, 100 noon and 80 afternoon. That town never makes the No.1 listing on any day, but can become the No.1 on average over a month. And if these conditions last for five months, will make the No.1 listing for a whole year. Hence we have Korat as the most polluted city in Thailand.

 

If people have a choice of where to live (many don't), they need to take all this into consideration. Personally I hate the air pollution that plagues half the country, but I have many reasons to prefer living in Chiang Mai than anywhere else. I holiday down south for much of the three month unhealthy burning season. And when at home during that time we run the air purifiers in the house and stay indoors every morning (our PM2.5 is around 10 to 20 indoors). We go outside in the garden, or for walks or bike rides in the afternoons when the air is healthy again. And this inconvenience is only for three months.

 

The high peaks are awful, but the average PM2.5 over the day is an important indicator of potential quality of life. A low average indicates that you have an opportunity to adjust your lifestyle to suit.

 

I would like to see the media make air pollution the number one 'burning issue' of the day, every day, by running air pollution stats on top page (or home page) prominently every day. An impact on the national psyche could be made by using population as the prominent metric. Such as:

 

Today 5 April

25,650,000 citizens are breathing PM2.5 over 50

23 Provinces affected

 

Then maybe we can shame this government into meaningful action.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Antonymous

[connda]

On 4/1/2020 at 6:53 PM, snoop1130 said:

On Tuesday (March 31), six people were prosecuted for starting forest fires.

Until they publicly name, shame, and throw the book at the arsonists, then setting fires to clear underbush prior to mushroom season will continue without a break.