Inside Thailand's fight against toxic annual wildfires - 'it's just getting worse and worse'

[webfact]

Drone footage shows the extent of the fires across northern Thailand. Pic: Chiang Mai University

 

By Siobhan Robbins - SE Asia correspondent

 

It's fire season in Thailand, with hundreds of patches of farmland and forest ablaze in the north

 

The government helicopter team we are with is charged with locating hotspots - fires belching toxic fumes into the atmosphere and poisoning the air.

 

Tiny PM2.5 pollution particles caused an estimated 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand in 2019, according to the State of Global Air 2020 report.

 

Along with exhaust fumes and crop burning, smoke from the wildfires contributes to the problem.

 

-- © Copyright Sky News 2021-04-07

 

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[RichardColeman]

If I was in the TAT I'd be extremely worried that the 2nd story on Sky news tonight is about toxic wildfires in Thailand. Thailand is unlikely to get many tourists with one of the major news stations in the Uk - and the world - putting a pin in any Thai tourism balloon

[bluesofa]

19 minutes ago, webfact said:

Along with exhaust fumes and crop burning, smoke from the wildfires contributes to the problem.

Can the drones be used to catch those responsible for crop burning?

[KhaoYai]

6 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Can the drones be used to catch those responsible for crop burning?

They don't need drones - all they need is a police force that looks in the right direction and actually enforces the law. Same could be said of a great many 'laws' in Thailand.

[NE1]

We had officials come to our village yesterday , to tell everybody that Thailand has a satellite that can see " hotspots " ( fires ) . and if they are caught burning their sugar cane / rice stubble ,  they will be fined. Once again this happens after the event and by the time burning season comes around again next year , it will be forgotten about , or the " camera will not be working " ????.

[bluesofa]

47 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

They don't need drones - all they need is a police force that looks in the right direction and actually enforces the law. Same could be said of a great many 'laws' in Thailand.

That's true, but they don't have a real police force.

Seeing as they're good at sitting and looking at traffic videos to fine transgressors, I thought it might extend to doing the same with drones.
There again using logical thinking here is usually flawed.

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

If I was in the TAT I'd be extremely worried that the 2nd story on Sky news tonight is about toxic wildfires in Thailand. Thailand is unlikely to get many tourists with one of the major news stations in the Uk - and the world - putting a pin in any Thai tourism balloon

Chiang Mai will be dead this Songkran, once thousands flocked there for celebrations, now only those with family up there will bother.

The governor deserves to be moved on to pastures new, to somewhere where there's nothing to burn.

[mikebell]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Tiny PM2.5 pollution particles caused an estimated 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand in 2019,

+ 20,000 on the roads - it's a form of birth control and keeps Thailand empty of people.

[Antonymous]

The devil is in the details.

 

I have read the report cited in the OP. For those who don’t have time to scrutinize it themselves, here are the highlights:

 

First, a look at air pollution in the context of all risk factors. It is the fourth most important.

 

Global ranking of risk factors by total number of deaths from all causes in 2019.

 

 

 

Second, a breakdown of the constituents of air pollution which shows that PM2.5 is the most important, followed by household air pollution.

 

Percentage of global deaths attributable to individual pollutants.

 

 

 

Here’s the list of the top 10 countries with high PM2.5 exposure. Thailand not one of them.

 

Top 10 countries with the highest population-weighted annual average PM2.5 exposures in 2019

 

 

Interesting that Thailand is not included on that list above. So regarding PM2.5 let’s see if Thailand has been getting better or worse over the past 10 years. Hmm, even more interesting is that Thailand has been improving. See below:

 

Change in population-weighted annual average PM2.5 exposure in the 20 most populous

 

countries, 2010–2019.

 

How about the second most important factor, household air pollution? Wow, Thailand has been improving there also. See below:

 

Change in the number of people exposed to household air pollution in the 17 countries with over 50 million people and at least 10% of their population cooking with solid fuels, 2010–2019.

 

 

In conclusion: Thailand’s air pollution should be a major concern, of course, but Thailand certainly isn’t the worst country and in fact has been improving over the past ten years. Many people will be surprised to see these facts.

Edited April 7, 2021 by Antonymous

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Can the drones be used to catch those responsible for crop burning?

They could, but no-one in authority is interested. They weren't last year, or the year before that, or the year before that, or........ Indonesia is the same, polluting Singapore every year but not killing 32,000 people annually by doing so.

[simon43]

[quote]

... Thailand’s air pollution should be a major concern, of course, but Thailand certainly isn’t the worst country and in fact has been improving over the past ten years.

[/quote]

 

Comparing Thailand's air pollution levels to another country is irrelevant.  Why should I care how bad the air pollution is in New Delhi, when I live in Chiang Mai?

 

Yes, the stats indicate that Thailand air pollution levels are improving.  So now it's only 'appalling;, as opposed to 'dire'.

[ParkerN]

Just now, Bangkok Barry said:

They could, but no-one in authority is interested. They weren't last year, or the year before that, or the year before that, or........ Indonesia is the same, polluting Singapore every year but not killing 32,000 people annually by doing so.

 

The objective here is to persuade the miscreants not to burn rather then penalise them for doing do. It's bound to fail, just as it fails every year. If they were serious, they'd send some of the 80,000 policemen they think are going to reduce the road toll; give them a chair and send them to sit watching the fields and nabbing the fire bugs. Word would get around quite quickly and the police do sitting like just about nobody else.

 

But all they would do is collect more bribes and let the rascals go... it was ever thus. Yet another problem that won't get resolved until the honesty problem in TL is resolved. One of very many. The very few honest policemen in TL must be pulling their hair out for being so out of the mainstream and watching the thieves get rich while they don't.

Edited April 7, 2021 by ParkerN

[Antonymous]

18 minutes ago, simon43 said:

[quote]

... Thailand’s air pollution should be a major concern, of course, but Thailand certainly isn’t the worst country and in fact has been improving over the past ten years.

[/quote]

 

Comparing Thailand's air pollution levels to another country is irrelevant.  Why should I care how bad the air pollution is in New Delhi, when I live in Chiang Mai?

 

Yes, the stats indicate that Thailand air pollution levels are improving.  So now it's only 'appalling;, as opposed to 'dire'.

 

People outside Thailand considering where to emigrate to, or those already in Thailand considering where else to move to, will certainly want to know this information.

 

Everyone must take account of how their health may be affected by air pollution and other risk factors, wherever in the world, or within Thailand, they live.

 

Personally, I ensure that during periods of high PM2.5 I take necessary precautions. I've lived in Chiang Mai for 30 years and I know that for about 4-6 weeks of the year when forest burning takes place in the north and neighbouring countries causing high spikes, I should head south for holidays. During this time if I'm outdoors I'll wear a mask (N-95) and if indoors use air purifiers that keep the PM2.5 in my house under 10. I hate the pollution, but have easily adjusted my lifestyle to accommodate it. It isn't too great a burden on me that I've ever wanted to give up living in this beautiful part of Thailand, surrounded by hills and forests that I look at out of my windows and walk or ride in daily.

 

It is important to take note of the following from the report:

 

"Although short-term exposure spikes can affect health, it is long-term exposures that contribute most to the burden of disease and mortality from air pollution, and therefore
are the focus of the GBD project."

 

Chiang Mai is far from the most polluted city in Thailand when looking at long term exposure (that position is taken by Korat) because for most of the year the air is wonderful. Yesterday my PM2.5 monitor (outdoors) read under 10 all day. Right this minute, on this glorious sunny morning, it is 19.

[bluedoc]

12 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

If I was in the TAT I'd be extremely worried that the 2nd story on Sky news tonight is about toxic wildfires in Thailand. Thailand is unlikely to get many tourists with one of the major news stations in the Uk - and the world - putting a pin in any Thai tourism balloon

In yesterday’s thai visa they tried to blame neighbouring countries for a lot of smoke pollution. It’s always somebody else’s fault in Thailand. Just like all that Covid cases were always migrants.

[Yom]

On 4/7/2021 at 11:12 AM, Antonymous said:

"Although short-term exposure spikes can affect health, it is long-term exposures that contribute most to the burden of disease and mortality from air pollution, and therefore
are the focus of the GBD project."

I think this is correct. And important to know.

 

 

20 hours ago, bluedoc said:

blame neighbouring countries for a lot of smoke pollution

I'm afraid / sure this is true.

You could search for better examples. - This was

before rain, the next screenshot after rain.

https://firms2.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/