Chiang Mai to hand out face masks as dust from fires hits hazardous levels

[webfact]

Air pollution in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last month. PM2.5 levels in the city reached 117µg/m³, more than 23 times WHO annual air quality guidelines. Photograph: Pongmanat Tasiri/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock

 

Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok

Thai authorities struggle to contain forest fires, a persistent cause of air pollution during the dry season

The Chiang Mai authorities in northern Thailand will hand out face masks to the public as the province struggles with dangerously high levels of air pollution caused by persistent forest fires.

 

The fires are an annual problem between the months of December and April, when farmers set light to their fields to clear the land ready for the next crop cycle.

 

The government has temporarily closed several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in north and western regions because of the fires, and it is expected that cloud-seeding will be used from Saturday in some areas, Thai PBS reported.

 

Helicopters have dropped water on fires in Kanchanaburi in west Thailand but with little success because of the dry weather conditions.

 

Full story: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/08/chiang-mai-masks-dust-fires-hazardous-levels-thailand-air-pollution

 

 

-- © Copyright The Guardian 2023-03-09

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

The most versatile and flexible rental investment and holiday home solution in Thailand - click for more information.

[nglodnig]

48 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thai authorities struggle to contain forest fires, a persistent cause of air pollution during the dry season

Yes they are really difficult to spot. That and burning sugar cane fields. Although they emit a lot of light and smoke they  cannot be seen by police detectors which are tuned into a different waveband aka brown envelope concealment. It's an arduous problem.

[2baht]

Year after year, similar to road accidents really, it just keeps happening!

[Rimbuman]

It's a problem never seriously addressed, deadly smog often at higher levels than China.

 

[Northstar1]

It’s only 23 times higher than the WHO guidelines? That’s not so bad the expats say. Just don’t go outdoors, breathe beside your air purifiers, wear a mask, I’m so happy I retired here????????????????‍♂️????????‍♂️????????????

[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The fires are an annual problem between the months of December and April

The authorities are also an annual problem, since they enable these fires.

[spidermike007]

They love to mislead, and deflect, by using the term fires. Yes, they are a contributing factor. But, it is mostly sugar and crop burning, which is intentional, not an accident. So, start locking up the farmers and seizing  their land, and start behaving like this is the health emergency it is. And stop being the "do nothing men". For once in your lives do something useful for the people. 

[soi3eddie]

Handing out face masks in Chiang Mai? Why? Thais already have, and enjoy wearing, their useless face masks 24/7, even when solo in a vehicle or riding a motorcycle. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by soi3eddie

[2baht]

5 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

And stop being the "do nothing men".

But that's what they do? That's their job description! Just pillage!

[worgeordie]

What about been proactive ..they know this is going to happen ,it occurs

every year , so what about sending  Police ,Army ,both don't seem to have

a lot to do ,and any volunteers ,let them camp up in the hills,  catch a few

of the arsonists , give them prison sentences , let them know the Government

is serious about stopping this burning ,that affects people's health ,and harms

the tourist industry ......

 

regards Worgeordie

[actonion]

Handing  out face masks ? ......its cheaper then addressing the real problem..

 

if it gets any worse   why no hand out gas masks to every arriving tourist

[RichardColeman]

Maybe the T.A.T. should start putting a free mask in their brochures like a Sunday suplement ? 

[Dljohnt]

Yes, we see fires around us but Chiang Mai province is doing its best. Bush fires are not always to avoid so we have to live with that, nothing new. Of course, there are fires lit by mushroom seekers and the police should actively seek and hunt those irresponsible people.

Thailand can do its best to avoid crop burnings in farm lands which are not too many of in the mountains around Chiang Mai. Last week there was many burning in the central of Thailand which you can blame to the crop burnings.

As you look at the fire hot spots today you will see it's burning all around Thailand in Burma and Laos and not to many fires around CM. So our government should talk in the Asian meetings about this.

Chiang Mai has the disadvantage of being surrounded by mountains so without wind or rain we are stuck with the smoke dwindling in from other places.

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, worgeordie said:

What about been proactive ..they know this is going to happen ,it occurs

every year , so what about sending  Police ,Army ,both don't seem to have

a lot to do ,and any volunteers ,let them camp up in the hills,  catch a few

of the arsonists , give them prison sentences , let them know the Government

is serious about stopping this burning ,that affects people's health ,and harms

the tourist industry ......

 

regards Worgeordie

Very, very little arson. The sugar growers are the true arsonists and culprits. Stop them. At any cost to the economy. If they shut down the economy due to covid, why not shut down the deliberate burning due to an air apocalypse emergency? 

[VocalNeal]

Might not be sugar growers in Thailand ????

[worgeordie]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Very, very little arson. The sugar growers are the true arsonists and culprits. Stop them. At any cost to the economy. If they shut down the economy due to covid, why not shut down the deliberate burning due to an air apocalypse emergency? 

This post is about Chiang Mai , not much sugar cane grown up here, it's the people

up in the hills and forests burning off the undergrowth ,so they can easier find

mushrooms when the rainy season starts,  they could do something about it ,as

they know where is going to be burnt ,as its been the same for years, but they

are not been proactive ,instead providing masks !,  after the air has become

nearly unbreathable ,

 

regards worgeordie

[spidermike007]

28 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

This post is about Chiang Mai , not much sugar cane grown up here, it's the people

up in the hills and forests burning off the undergrowth ,so they can easier find

mushrooms when the rainy season starts,  they could do something about it ,as

they know where is going to be burnt ,as its been the same for years, but they

are not been proactive ,instead providing masks !,  after the air has become

nearly unbreathable ,

 

regards worgeordie

An incredibly sad indictment of the behavior of the locals. Sacrifice all well being for some mushrooms. 

[anchadian]

(1/3) As Chiang Mai was listed as the city with the worst air pollution in the world Thurs, PM Prayut urges farmers to stop burning agricultural wastes, adding he's reluctant to enforce the law to punish them because they're farmers.

 

(2/3) "Please, I don't want to use the laws. If it's used you all will be breaking it. I don't want anyone to be in trouble but you must think about the quality of life of others and their health too," Prayut said.

 

(3/3) Article 220 of the Public Health Act stipulates that anyone found posing danger to others through the buring of agricultural waste or rubbish could face up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to 140,000 bt.

 

https://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish/status/1633758522050764800

 

[transam]

Try threatening the gov folk, who are meant to be sorting the problem, with the sack for lack of action....

Pay the army/police for use of their helicopters to do a bit of fire spotting patrolling.

But, nothing will ever be done using common sense..............

[arithai12]

On 3/9/2023 at 7:53 AM, spidermike007 said:

They love to mislead, and deflect, by using the term fires. Yes, they are a contributing factor. But, it is mostly sugar and crop burning, which is intentional, not an accident. So, start locking up the farmers and seizing  their land, and start behaving like this is the health emergency it is. And stop being the "do nothing men". For once in your lives do something useful for the people. 

If you lived in Chiang Mai province, you could observe with your own eyes that your statement "mostly sugar and crop burning" is wrong. It's mostly forest fires. There is a report from CM University stating that only 4% are from crops burning. Perhaps elsewhere the proportions are different, but CM province is mosly mountainous anyway.The forest fires are (also intentionally) started because of the lucrative mushroom business.

Which is a great shame because not only it causes the absolutely horrible problem of pollution during 2 months, it also destroys a wonderful ecosystem, including a terrible death for many animals and long-lasting scars on the landscape. Including in National Parks. And in a few cases also deaths of heroic fire-fighters have occurred.

 

I would almost suggest that the government hands out a sum to each village where fires do not occur, a little like paying ransom I know.

[arithai12]

On 3/9/2023 at 6:46 AM, Northstar1 said:

It’s only 23 times higher than the WHO guidelines? That’s not so bad the expats say. Just don’t go outdoors, breathe beside your air purifiers, wear a mask, I’m so happy I retired here????????????????‍♂️????????‍♂️????????????

I don;t want to excuse the problem of PM2.5 in Chiang Mai, which is an absolute shame.

But you should not take literally what click-hungry reporters feed you.

117 / 23 = 5. But 5 is the WHO recommended guideline for annual mean, while on a daily basis it is 15. We still exceed that by a lot, I know, but not by 23 times.

And, CM air is relatively ok in PM2.5 terms for most of the year outside the critical 2 months.

But again, yes, at this time of the year better stay away from CM.

[Northstar1]

20 hours ago, arithai12 said:

I don;t want to excuse the problem of PM2.5 in Chiang Mai, which is an absolute shame.

But you should not take literally what click-hungry reporters feed you.

117 / 23 = 5. But 5 is the WHO recommended guideline for annual mean, while on a daily basis it is 15. We still exceed that by a lot, I know, but not by 23 times.

And, CM air is relatively ok in PM2.5 terms for most of the year outside the critical 2 months.

But again, yes, at this time of the year better stay away from CM.

2 months a year, maybe 10 years ago, not recently since I left, it’s a polluted <deleted> hole