Thailand: 10 million sought treatment for pollution-related illnesses in 2023

[webfact]

 

More than 10 million Thais sought treatment for illnesses linked to air pollution in 2023, authorities said.

 

The data from the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) come as Thailand's air quality is worsening. Widespread farm burning and forest fires, notably in the country's north, often create a noxious smog at the beginning of the year.

 

The start of 2024 has already seen a jump in cases of pollution-related diseases compared to the previous year.

 

From 1.3 million in the first nine weeks of 2023, the number of people seeking treatment for pollution-related illnesses increased to 1.6 million at the start of 2024, AFP reported. Thailand has a population of about 72 million.

 

By Kelly Ng | BBC News

File photo: National News Bureau of Thailand

 

Full story: BBC 2024-03-07

 

- 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.

 

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[mania]

A photo posted today on FB flying over Chiang Mai

It is amazingly bad what a layer looks like from above too

 

 

[Gknrd]

Hard to believe people want to retire there and die a horrible death..  unreal.

[ezzra]

50 minutes ago, webfact said:

More than 10 million Thais sought treatment for illnesses

And I'm sure that none of the doctors had the foggiest idea as to how to treat such compliant...

[mikebell]

Excellent distinction.  I am stunned at the suggested figure of 30,000 annual deaths quoted above - that's 82 every day! That's over double the road deaths permitted by the the inaction of RTP.  I am amazed that Thais have not taken to the streets demanding action.

[motdaeng]

nothing has changed, business as usual ...

 

https://aqicn.org/country/thailand/

 

 

[dinsdale]

And I'm sure a % of these had covid as it continues to circulate. Incidental covid numbers. Something continually dismissed by some on this forum. My lungs haven't been good for sometime now. There was a SWterly blowing for a while, the pm2.5 reduced and my lungs came good. 

[jaywalker2]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

And I'm sure that none of the doctors had the foggiest idea as to how to treat such compliant...

antibiotics and vitamin shots of course

[Kaopad999]

2 hours ago, stoner said:

 

and yet no netcitizen outrage for an issue that kills over 30k every year. makes covid deaths look so small. 

 

 

Typical  for Thais to focus on and express outrage over minor issues, while overlooking more significant, underlying problems that could ultimately lead to their downfall. A mindset that i will never truly understand. 

[FritsSikkink]

When will they start to really attack the problem of these fires?

[lordgrinz]

So 1 out of every 7 Thai citizens needed treatment for pollution related illnesses? Sounds like a great place to retire or vacation, don't forget to pack your respirator!

[spidermike007]

It is getting to the point of being a disaster in the making. I have never in all the years I have been here, seen it as bad as it is this year. And nothing is being done. The do nothing PM, and the do nothing authorities are totally unwilling to stand up to the enemy of the people, Big Agra, and their refineries. Something must be done. The indifference is stunning. This is truly a pathetic situation. There should be a public revolt.

[sirineou]

Just now, spidermike007 said:

It is getting to the point of being a disaster in the making. I have never in all the years I have been here, seen it as bad as it is this year. And nothing is being done. The do nothing PM, and the do nothing authorities are totally unwilling to stand up to the enemy of the people, Big Agra, and their refineries. Something must be done. The indifference is stunning. This is truly a pathetic situation. There should be a public revolt.

We came close to it at our farm,

Don't know how it started,but I can guess. But we almost got burned out.

Got to the farm just in time as it was on our fence, Our storage sead was gust starting to get a bit of fire on it. 

Again we have a day where you can hardly see a couple of miles away from the smog.

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Widespread farm burning and forest fires, notably in the country's north, often create a noxious smog at the beginning of the year.

 

This is misleading and deceptive news, because the government every year around this season says it's from neighboring countries.

 

Surely the government can't be wrong, can they ?

[spidermike007]

16 minutes ago, sirineou said:

We came close to it at our farm,

Don't know how it started,but I can guess. But we almost got burned out.

Got to the farm just in time as it was on our fence, Our storage sead was gust starting to get a bit of fire on it. 

Again we have a day where you can hardly see a couple of miles away from the smog.

This is an abomination. The farmers do not seem to care one iota about their fellow Thai. Not one iota. If you goons were not bought and paid for by big agra, the burning would stop. It is your compromised nature and your unwillingness to put up a good fight, that is the major cause of the air apocalypse we are facing. People are dying and suffering in hospitals on your watch, and their blood is on your hands. You are cowards. You are incompetents. You deserve to be kicked out with a vengeance.

Why is this happening? Because "Stretta the tiny" 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.

[stoner]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It is getting to the point of being a disaster in the making. I have never in all the years I have been here, seen it as bad as it is this year. And nothing is being done. The do nothing PM, and the do nothing authorities are totally unwilling to stand up to the enemy of the people, Big Agra, and their refineries. Something must be done. The indifference is stunning. This is truly a pathetic situation. There should be a public revolt.

 

the silence by international bodies tells me all i need to know. this is a huge issue facing all people in this region. 

 

crimes against humanity comes to mind. considering the death toll this produces. 

[rudi49jr]

6 hours ago, Gknrd said:

Hard to believe people want to retire there and die a horrible death..  unreal.

Agreed. I spent a winter in Chiang Mai in 1988/89, the weather was great, not too hot, very cool nights, no smog. It’s a beautiful area, I fell in love with it and wanted to retire there.

Came back a couple of winters, last time in 2011, got bronchitis twice, the smog seems to be getting worse every year and the hot season seems to be starting earlier and earlier, and getting hotter and hotter as well. So no retirement for me in CM.

I didn’t expect such a huge number, though, of people who got sick from air pollution. I mean, 10 million people, that’s insane. But I don’t expect the authorities to suddenly jump into high gear to fix it. 

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

More than 10 million Thais sought treatment for illnesses linked to air pollution in 2023, authorities said

Disgusting.

[malibukid]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

This is an abomination. The farmers do not seem to care one iota about their fellow Thai. Not one iota. If you goons were not bought and paid for by big agra, the burning would stop. It is your compromised nature and your unwillingness to put up a good fight, that is the major cause of the air apocalypse we are facing. People are dying and suffering in hospitals on your watch, and their blood is on your hands. You are cowards. You are incompetents. You deserve to be kicked out with a vengeance.

Why is this happening? Because "Stretta the tiny" 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.

he doesn't care, he's off to Europe

[dinsdale]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

 Widespread farm burning and forest fires, notably in the country's north, often create a noxious smog at the beginning of the year.

Bkk has had high pm 2.5 for months. Only when there is a wind (now predominantly from the SW) can you see the sun. Most days it's just a brownish cloudy sky. What was lacking during the cool season were the NE winds coming down from China. No burning was going so it was all down to pollution from factories and vehicles. As for the 10 million number well that's more than 10% of the population so this number is very suspect.

[tomazbodner]

7 hours ago, motdaeng said:

nothing has changed, business as usual ...

 

https://aqicn.org/country/thailand/

 

 

Another thing is missing in your screenshot. All those fires...

 

[rudi49jr]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

This is an abomination. The farmers do not seem to care one iota about their fellow Thai. Not one iota. If you goons were not bought and paid for by big agra, the burning would stop. It is your compromised nature and your unwillingness to put up a good fight, that is the major cause of the air apocalypse we are facing. People are dying and suffering in hospitals on your watch, and their blood is on your hands. You are cowards. You are incompetents. You deserve to be kicked out with a vengeance.

Why is this happening? Because "Stretta the tiny" 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.

It’s not just the farmers, everybody and their uncle just burns everything. They really don’t care that when they burn their waste, all their neighbors will be choking on their smoke. I was in Hua Hin for six weeks and the neighbor of the apartment building I was in burned their waste almost every morning. Which sucked, because sitting by the pool in the morning, when it was still relatively cool, meant breathing in all that smoke. And they were burning plastics and everything as well, I could clearly smell that. 
So the whole selfish ‘I don’t give a rat’s @ss’ mindset here needs to change before things can get better.

[Gknrd]

4 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

Agreed. I spent a winter in Chiang Mai in 1988/89, the weather was great, not too hot, very cool nights, no smog. It’s a beautiful area, I fell in love with it and wanted to retire there.

Came back a couple of winters, last time in 2011, got bronchitis twice, the smog seems to be getting worse every year and the hot season seems to be starting earlier and earlier, and getting hotter and hotter as well. So no retirement for me in CM.

I didn’t expect such a huge number, though, of people who got sick from air pollution. I mean, 10 million people, that’s insane. But I don’t expect the authorities to suddenly jump into high gear to fix it. 

I lived in that area for over 10 years, it is a miserable place to live now. I was already gearing up to leave because of the pollution when the government made the 800K in a Thai bank mandatory. That was the last straw. No regrets other than leaving a long time partner there. 

[john donson]

what do you expect in this me me me culture

 

and not speak out off course, because could lose face and consequences...

 

only 10 million?

[mania]

5 hours ago, john donson said:

what do you expect in this me me me culture

 

and not speak out off course, because could lose face and consequences...

 

only 10 million?

 

My wife often comments on where we live most of the time...(Not Thailand)

But so often on the roads when cars stop & wave our car thru or when we cross roads & they stop for us etc

 

She always asks why do you never see this in Thailand? I always reply as you did & say it is a me first culture there.

Probably because they were raised with that whole face thing & a hi-so/lo-so class system

[scoobyguy]

21 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

antibiotics and vitamin shots of course

Dont forget the Xray.

[spidermike007]

4 hours ago, mania said:

 

My wife often comments on where we live most of the time...(Not Thailand)

But so often on the roads when cars stop & wave our car thru or when we cross roads & they stop for us etc

 

She always asks why do you never see this in Thailand? I always reply as you did & say it is a me first culture there.

Probably because they were raised with that whole face thing & a hi-so/lo-so class system

Well that might be part of it, but I also think that they weren't taught how to drive as part of their upbringing. I remember when I was first learning how to drive how much time my mother spent with me driving around, and showing me the need to be polite, the need to be respectful, and the need to show courtesy to other drivers. I don't think Thais get any of that sort of education. And I think these days "the lost art of parenting" extends the Thailand as well as the rest of the world. 

[realfunster]

15 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

So 1 out of every 7 Thai citizens needed treatment for pollution related illnesses? Sounds like a great place to retire or vacation, don't forget to pack your respirator!

 

Of course, these figures, like many here, are a complete nonsense. There is no way that such a high a proportion and overall number of people have sought medical treatment for this reason.

How do I know ? Literally no-one in my personal/work circle of several hundred has ever mentioned this and I have never seen a sick leave request on the topic....

 

Anyway, I give these spurious statistics a free pass as they are rightly drawing attention to this issue - which needs urgent action !