Expats How Do You Deal With The Toxic Air Pollution in Thailand?

[Mitkof Island]

Curious how most expats deal with the air pollution in their homes.

Do you have air-con in every room or a safe room to stay inside?

Do you use air purifiers also?

Name brands of air purifiers would be helpful along with prices where you purchased it and how it works in your home or room.

As much information as possible would be helpful for all those concerned.

Since the government seems totally unwilling to make any effort to clean up the air and garbage pollution.

We are all at risk including those working for the government and their families!

[blaze master]

Do a quick search on this forum all of your questions shall be answered. 

[Thailand]

Generally suck it up and get on with my remaining years in a place that I love despite the problems.

[OneMoreFarang]

High floor condominium - up here the pollution is not half as bad as on street level.

ACs with filters.

Air purifier in the bedroom.

 

Personally, I only had a problem with the bad air when I want to sleep. With better air quality high up and the air purifier that problem is basically solved for me.

I also ride motorcycle in the bad air. But for whatever reason that doesn't really affect me.

 

[KhunLA]

Live as far south as practical, for us, that's 1.5 hrs / 100 kms south of Hua Hin.

 

Cuts the bad months of pollution, to about 2-3 months instead of 6, and AQI usually <100.   PM2.5 is still an issue.

 

Air purifiers, stand alone and build into ACs at the house, and car also has purifier.  All work excellent, keeping PM2.5 to <5, and well within healthy range.

 

Minimal if any effect on body.  Unlike when living in Udon Thani, when a rough throat & cough was common for smog season, till investing in air purifiers.  

 

A rude awakening when realizing just how poor the air was before being enlightened, using PM2.5 meter.  Not much news about AQI or PM2.5 numbers at the time, 20+ years ago.  

 

Control of, hiding that news is no longer done and the facts speak for themselves.

[FriscoKid]

Multiple air filters running 24/7. Xiaomi makes good ones that are inexpensive if you are budget minded. If you want high-end machines then go for BlueAir from Sweden. Lazada is your friend. 

[jas007]

I don't have any kind of breathing difficulties, so I don't notice.  For those that do, I'm not sure there will be any changes anytime soon.  

 

Air pollution isn't unique to Thailand.  Big cities all over the world have a similar problem. The very first time I flew into Los Angeles, it was a beautiful day.  Sunshine and clear skies. Then, as we approached LA, there was a brown fog over the city. Clear skies one minute, and a few minutes later the plane descended through a bunch of pollution.  That was LA, back in the day. You could be on the ground in LA, and not be able to see the mountains for all the pollution.  Partly, it's the result of a temperature inversion or whatever. Some cities have it wore than others. 

[Mitkof Island]

26 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

High floor condominium - up here the pollution is not half as bad as on street level.

ACs with filters.

Air purifier in the bedroom.

 

Personally, I only had a problem with the bad air when I want to sleep. With better air quality high up and the air purifier that problem is basically solved for me.

I also ride motorcycle in the bad air. But for whatever reason that doesn't really affect me.

 

Yes it is mostly at night between the hours of 6pm soon after sunset tends to hit a peak about 1 am than slowly gets better sometimes not. What is the air purifier brand , changing filters ? , how much from where? helpful much?

[soi3eddie]

Bangkok. Near victory monument. I think that the stress of worrying about AQI numbers is worse than getting on with life. Sure, the air quality in Bangkok will never be alpine fresh but WhyTF does anyone live here if they are paranoid about AQI. For most I know, they just get on with life. Don't like it, don't live here. Now, living in Chiang Mai from January to April would be a different matter for me - I would not do it. But then, so many expats head south, or overseas during those months. Just deal with it and stop complaining.

 

[Hummin]

I had a plan to make my open balcony 36m2 a "wintergarden" with isolated glasses, aircon and air purifier, but I made a 180 last year, and moved back home. Thats how I delt with the pollution, heat and finely the proposed taxation. 

 

I still want to make a wintergarden here, but postponed for now.