Will Srettha’s administration have the political will to stop smog problem?

[webfact]

Bangkok, a city famed for its cultural vibrancy and bustling street life, is now grappling with a persistent and dangerous environmental crisis: severe air pollution. At the heart of this crisis is the PM2.5 particulate matter, tiny particles that pose serious health risks due to their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

 

The smog in Bangkok, characterized by high levels of PM2.5, is a complex issue, with agricultural burning to support large-scale corporate agricultural operations being a significant contributing factor. With the new government under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in power, there’s a pressing question: Will this administration confront the corporations that are implicated in these unhealthy practices?

 

Bangkok’s air pollution problem has reached alarming levels in recent years. The concentration of PM2.5 often exceeds safe limits, posing a threat not just to the environment but, more critically, to public health. The sources of PM2.5 in Bangkok are varied, but agricultural burning, especially of sugarcane and rice stubble, is a major contributor. Estimates suggest that biomass burning in the agricultural sector contributes anywhere from 24 to 38% of the PM2.5 levels in Bangkok, with the majority coming from sugarcane and rice burning.

 

The Thai government has acknowledged the severity of the situation and has put forth measures to combat the issue. These include ambitious goals like reducing areas prone to repeated burning by 50% and decreasing average PM2.5 particulate matter by 40%. Such measures signal a recognition of the need to address the root causes of air pollution. However, their effectiveness will largely depend on how well these policies are implemented and enforced.

 

By Arun Saronchai

 

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[flyingtlger]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

The Thai government has acknowledged the severity of the situation and has put forth measures to combat the issue.

That's about the extent of that....nothing ever comes of it.

 

Edited January 12 by flyingtlger

[jacko45k]

It is all well and good talking about it, and even attempting to reduce the domestic sources, hell the engine/boat etc fumes alone are a health hazard in Pattaya... but really, what can be done about burning in adjacent countries?

[stoner]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

It is all well and good talking about it, and even attempting to reduce the domestic sources, hell the engine/boat etc fumes alone are a health hazard in Pattaya... but really, what can be done about burning in adjacent countries?

 

exactly. cambodia on that fire map just looks like one great big red blob. 

[bamnutsak]

It's just not "will", it's competence too.

 

Srettha is a talker, not a doer.

 

So far he's talked about chairing a committee, and pushing more rainmaking

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40034602

[Callmeishmael]

If I was a betting man...  I would bet NO.

[tomazbodner]

Duplicate.

Edited January 12 by tomazbodner

[tomazbodner]

38 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

It is all well and good talking about it, and even attempting to reduce the domestic sources, hell the engine/boat etc fumes alone are a health hazard in Pattaya... but really, what can be done about burning in adjacent countries?

 

Same as what Trump did to Chinese imports.

[stoner]

29 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

 

Same as what Trump did to Chinese imports.

 

yes trump also comes to my mind when thinking about pm2.5 issues in south east asia. tds much. wow. 

[mikebell]

'the political will to stop smog problem?'  When there's an election in the air, convoys of slow moving speaker-vans grind ordinary traffic to a standstill whilst broadcasting a political message no one can hear.  The rest of the time it's just ordinary vans hired by deluded business men who think this drums up business when in fact it alienates potential customers.

[ourmanflint]

Wasn’t there an organisation set up to link all these countries together so they can fix these problems jointly?

Asan or something?

[Enoon]

 

No.

 

 

[Will B Good]

In a word NO......they simply don't see it as a real problem either in terms of people's health or having a negative impact on tourism.

 

People coming for two/three weeks won't know about it....and if they do they are only for a short time, so why worry about it?

 

Long term health damage is long enough for politicians not to worry.......it'll be ages before kids suffer so they won't bother doing anything.

 

 

[beautifulthailand99]

I've had enough -  spent the last few days in Bangkok with the air basically a toilet. Nobody with choices would choose to live like this and it won't get better but worse. Democracy died forever with the gerrymandered last election - so don't hold your breath.

[Purdey]

I assume the government problem is that simply banning something will have a knock-on effect on the livelihood of the poorest, and most uneducated, part of the citizenry. Telling farmers who know of no other way other than burning stubble that they are bad for trying to grow food won't work. Telling the guy driving to work that he should not, when there is no efficient mass transport close to his home, won't work.

Educating farmers how to make money without burning would help. Building a mass transportation network where every station was within 10 minutes walk or 5 minutes by songthaew would help.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Bangkok, a city famed for its cultural vibrancy and bustling street life, is now grappling with a persistent and dangerous environmental crisis: severe air pollution. At the heart of this crisis is the PM2.5 particulate matter, tiny particles that pose serious health risks due to their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

The new broom Bangkok governor who was going to sort everything else can't do ot, so I doubt very much if Srettha will achieve much either.

Majority of the dust comes from construction sites, road works, crumbling concrete buildings etc.

Vehicle exhaust and burning only add to it.

 

[Tarteso]

administration have the political will to stop smog problem
 

😂😂😂

[peter zwart]

Maybe the will but not the power

[Thingamabob]

No way.

[spidermike007]

No. Why?

Because this is a man who represents corporate interests. 

This is the man who represents the elite. 

This is not a man who represents progress, change, or helping the nation to move forward. This is not a man who represents the people.

This not a man who cares about the well-being of the people.

 

Corporations do not want to clean up the air, they're making billions by fouling the air. All the government or provinces would have to do is crack down on sugar companies and the air would improve by 70% overnight, this time of year. 

One simple move, yet do they do that? Do they enforce any of the existing laws? Absolutely not, they do not care for the people one iota, the common man, us, our neighbors and friends and family, we mean less than zero. 

 

Sretta. The do nothing man. 

Edited January 12 by spidermike007

[fondue zoo]

14 hours ago, Will B Good said:

In a word NO......they simply don't see it as a real problem either in terms of people's health or having a negative impact on tourism.

 

People coming for two/three weeks won't know about it....and if they do they are only for a short time, so why worry about it?

 

Long term health damage is long enough for politicians not to worry.......it'll be ages before kids suffer so they won't bother doing anything.

 

 

 

Yes this, they would have to be seeing it nonstop in the foreign press for months before anything substantive happened, going for the face might work.

And yeah, the neighbours next door don't give a hoot so why bother. 

 

[jacko45k]

21 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

 

Same as what Trump did to Chinese imports.

We are expecting many more of them here in Thailand.

[Stargeezr]

All of SE Asia has to quit burning their sugarcane debris to make the air cleaner.

  Thailand also has to make the old vehicles 20 old and older get off the roads.

     Oh well I still enjoy a holiday there every few years, so I will pack my N95 masks for

my week in Bangkok.

[newnative]

no

[John Drake]

On 1/12/2024 at 1:14 PM, Purdey said:

Telling farmers who know of no other way other than burning stubble that they are bad for trying to grow food won't work.

 

It's the big Thai agribusiness conglomerates who profit most from the burning.