Bangkok Pollution: one for the BKK long timers

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:23 AM, Hanuman2547 said:

The air quality in Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, has always been bad.  It was like this back in the 80's and continues to this day.  I notice it most on return flights to Bangkok when you begin descending into the haze during the daylight hours.  

I think a lot of the pollution back in the pre-Skytrain days in Bangkok had to do with diesel vehicle pollution, whereas these days it's more of a seasonal thing related to agricultural burning.

 

I well remember lots of originally white exterior buildings around BKK having their surfaces turned black by the pollution at the time.

 

[Hanuman2547]

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I think a lot of the pollution back in the pre-Skytrain days in Bangkok had to do with diesel vehicle pollution, whereas these days it's more of a seasonal thing related to agricultural burning.

 

I well remember lots of originally white exterior buildings around BKK having their surfaces turned black by the pollution at the time.

 

They were definitely burning their fields back in the pre-Skytrain days too.  Diesel vehicle pollution is still a problem both in Bangkok and elsewhere.

[Dirk Z]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

1. Lately has been the off/rainy season for smog in Thailand, so levels have been comparatively low... Wait till Dec., Jan. and onward arrive.

 

It also depends on whether the up to 50 value you're mentioning is actually an AQI reading that you call it, or is instead a 50 reading of micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 pollution, which is probably a more common reading used by more air purifiers, since AQI standards can and do vary some by country.

 

But either way, your lungs will be begging for your air purifier by the end of the year and into next year if you're still in central Bangkok then.

 

Here's the various AQI readings for Bangkok as of Sunday night -- almost all of them well above the 50 AQI level:

 

 

http://aqicn.org/station/bangkok

 

And, here's what Bangkok's pollution levels by AQI have looked like over the past several years by month, with the red levels being unhealthy, the orange levels being unhealthy for sensitive groups, the yellow moderate, and the green good.

 

 

AQI=AQI. Particles often around 25. But I will keep checking. And I don't smoke.

[KhunLA]

Was at Kanchanburi last week, and already AQI was 75 (moderate), and PM2.5 more than 3X healthy level.  Hills were a grey blur, unlike a few months earlier when air was clear.   Rained overnight and helped the next day.

 

Same driving up through Hua Hin area, and hills in distance were a blur.  Pretty sad since only mid-October.

 

Cleared up by the time we got back, as pictured in photo posted in 'Leaving BarStool' thread (Phetchaburi, just NW of Cha Am).

 

People are delusional if thinking smog season doesn't start until after New Year's Day.

Edited October 16, 2023 by KhunLA

[Hanuman2547]

40 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

 

People are delusional if thinking smog season doesn't start until after New Year's Day.

 

It definitely begins soon after the rains end in November and just gets worse.  There is always a certain level of smog and air pollution year around.  Some months are just worse than others.  

[Jelli]

Low pressure system in cool season brings worst of it.

 

Was so much worse in early 90s. Needed tongue scraper and gentian Violet at times

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

10 hours ago, Dirk Z said:

AQI=AQI. Particles often around 25. But I will keep checking. And I don't smoke.

Here's a good website from the U.S. EPA that easily converts from AQI to particles or from particles to AQI.

 

https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-calculator-concentration/

 

Your level right now is in the mid-range for "moderate" / yellow pollution -- not as good as good "green," but not yet as bad as orange "unhealthy for sensitive" folks...

 

But don't worry, your time will be coming soon!  This is BKK after all.  ????

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

10 hours ago, KhunLA said:

People are delusional if thinking smog season doesn't start until after New Year's Day.

If folks look at the 2020-2023 AQI graphic I posted above for BKK, they'll see that for last couple years, October was really the month that the number of "good" air quality days for the month began declining markedly, giving way to more "moderate" and "unhealthy for sensitive" folks days...  And that continuing thru the end of the year...

 

And then in 2020, 2021 and 2023, the early months of the new year, January through March, got even worse, with a lot of red unhealthy and dark orange day readings.

 

[KhunLA]

13 hours ago, Dirk Z said:

AQI=AQI. Particles often around 25. But I will keep checking. And I don't smoke.

Not good at all, and PM2.5 is 6+ times what WHO considers healthy:

[Dirk Z]

20 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Here's a good website from the U.S. EPA that easily converts from AQI to particles or from particles to AQI.

 

https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-calculator-concentration/

 

Your level right now is in the mid-range for "moderate" / yellow pollution -- not as good as good "green," but not yet as bad as orange "unhealthy for sensitive" folks...

 

But don't worry, your time will be coming soon!  This is BKK after all.  ????

 

 

 

My meter shows both values. I'm aware of the issues and living in BKK is by choice. And I'm also old enough that the reduction of survival id not that relevant anymore. Same goes for drinking beer.

[samtam]

The high AQI started already. Noticeable difference over the last week or so as the rains abated.

 

 

Simple solution: "stop burning things"...🙄

Edited October 18, 2023 by samtam

[JimTripper]

On 10/18/2023 at 11:16 AM, samtam said:

The high AQI started already. Noticeable difference over the last week or so as the rains abated.

 

 

Simple solution: "stop burning things"...🙄

i just read somewhere that in bkk it's mostly industry causing it. the farmers and people burning stuff are used as a scapegoat with industry rarely mentioned.

Edited October 23, 2023 by JimTripper

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

59 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

i just read somewhere

 

Ahh...the infamous source... "I read somewhere" so often used here.

 

Industrial pollution and vehicle pollution are definitely part of the picture when it comes to smog in BKK....

 

But for the fall to spring period when the pollution levels are the highest in BKK and elsewhere around the country, it's the added seasonal impact of agricultural burning -- both in Thailand and in adjoining countries -- that put things over the top and into seriously unhealthy conditions.

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

In short, there have been quite a few studies over the years that have looked at the composition (and thus identified sources) of air pollution in Thailand and in Bangkok, in particular... The findings have been quite varied leading to some predictable confusion and variation in conclusions, but a lot of that is related to at what times of the year any particular sampling is done (wet vs. dry season).

 

This past graphic from The Nation gives a pretty good and straightforward summary of what the Thai Pollution Control Department's own past research has shown, as follows:

 

 

Predictably, the PCD found that during the wet/rainy seasons when agricultural burning isn't occurring so much, diesel vehicle emissions slightly exceed biomass burning as the largest single air pollution source in Bangkok, whereas during the dry (worst pollution) season when widespread agricultural burning occurs nationwide, biomass burning significantly exceeds vehicles emissions as the largest source.

 

[samtam]

On 10/18/2023 at 11:16 AM, samtam said:

The high AQI started already. Noticeable difference over the last week or so as the rains abated.

 

 

Simple solution: "stop burning things"...🙄

 

I've noticed that the AQI website that I use has quite a few non functioning data centres, and I have been in touch with them. They confirmed that this is the case, and have disabled the content on their website. The readings were excessively higher than those in the immediate vicinity, (such as the red 151 reading in the sample shown). Nonetheless, there still appear to be few that are clearly out of sync, and I'm wondering if there is a better monitoring website for Bangkok, or indeed Thailand.

Edited October 23, 2023 by samtam

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

18 minutes ago, samtam said:

 

I've noticed that the AQI website that I use has quite a few non functioning data centres, and I have been in touch with them. They confirmed that this is the case, and have disabled the content on their website. The readings were excessively higher than those in the immediate vicinity, (such as the red 151 reading in the sample shown). Nonetheless, there still appear to be few that are clearly out of sync, and I'm wondering if there is a better monitoring website for Bangkok, or indeed Thailand.

 

The aqicn.org website aggregates air quality reading from numerous sources, both government and private.

 

On any given page/source of theirs, if you scroll down a bit, you'll find a note of who/what is responsible for that particular sensor... such as the following for the main Bangkok one:

 

"Air Quality Data provided by the Division of Air Quality Data, Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau, Pollution Control Department. (aqmthai.com) "

 

https://aqicn.org/city/bangkok/

 

And if you scroll down a bit further than that, you'll see a section of historical readings by year from that particular monitoring station. If the entries are blank or missing, you'll know that station is (or isn't) recording comprehensive data.

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[samtam]

18 minutes ago, samtam said:

 

I've noticed that the AQI website that I use has quite a few non functioning data centres, and I have been in touch with them. They confirmed that this is the case, and have disabled the content on their website. The readings were excessively higher than those in the immediate vicinity, (such as the red 151 reading in the sample shown). Nonetheless, there still appear to be few that are clearly out of sync, and I'm wondering if there is a better monitoring website for Bangkok, or indeed Thailand.

 

 

Here is today's for

รร.โสตศึกษาทุ่งมหาเมฆ แขวงทุ่งมหาเมฆ เขตสาทร กรุงเทพฯ, Bangkok, Thailand Air Pollution:

 

which shows "no data", but 129 on the map. So it has presumably been disabled, but not removed from the map. I have notified them of this one too.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just now, samtam said:

Here is today's for

รร.โสตศึกษาทุ่งมหาเมฆ แขวงทุ่งมหาเมฆ เขตสาทร กรุงเทพฯ, Bangkok, Thailand Air Pollution:

 

I tend to ignore the stations that have no current information, and save and bookmark the stations in areas of interest to me that do have comprehensive, up-to-date readings.

 

The chart at the very top of each page tells the viewer the recency of the data:

 

 

[samtam]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The aqicn.org website aggregates air quality reading from numerous sources, both government and private.

 

On any given page/source of theirs, if you scroll down a bit, you'll find a note of who/what is responsible for that particular sensor... such as the following for the main Bangkok one:

 

"Air Quality Data provided by the Division of Air Quality Data, Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau, Pollution Control Department. (aqmthai.com) "

 

https://aqicn.org/city/bangkok/

 

 

Thanks. It shows Chiang Mai University as the contributor. I have notified them, (I think). Have had correspondence with them over the last few days.

[josephbloggs]

On 10/15/2023 at 11:42 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I think a lot of the pollution back in the pre-Skytrain days in Bangkok had to do with diesel vehicle pollution, whereas these days it's more of a seasonal thing related to agricultural burning.

 

I well remember lots of originally white exterior buildings around BKK having their surfaces turned black by the pollution at the time.

 

I agree, but I also think the banning of 2-stroke motorcycles is the early 2000's (Late 1990's?) had a major impact. Those things used to spew out horrible white smoke.

Bangkok is so much better now than it was then, although the seasonal burning months are pretty bad and I don't seem to remember that being a thing back then.

Edited October 23, 2023 by josephbloggs