Relocating to Chiang Mai, worried about burning season

[FlorC]

You'd think the cooler months up north are much better than the constant hot/humid in southern Thailand,

but after 12 on midday it gets hot too , less humid. But you can't enjoy the cool night and morning time temperatures

with the smell of burning and awful PM2,5 numbers. Can't even keep windows open.

Just air the rooms , then the purifiers on maximum. Go outside with a mask.

 

Why I life here ?

While driving all through Thailand , I only found the accomodation I needed at the price I wanted here up north.

Now my Thai "family" build a nice house for me . Yes I would rather have it in a better province , but I can't 

move the house , or move to another thai style build sh-thole.

 

[black tabby12345]

On 5/23/2025 at 9:31 AM, black tabby12345 said:

I have been in Chiang Mai old city area for nearly 2 decades.

Still have no respiratory sickness.

If you worry about it, advisable to take at least one cup of soybean paste soup a day.

Soybean paste is known to lower lung cancer risk.

 

 

 

I made a bit of correction to my previous post.

 

As well as adding some info which might help.

Soybean paste can be used as the good hidden ingredient to your dish(e.g. other types of soup or steak).

It has an effect to enrich the flavor.

 

1/2 teaspoon will be just right for one serving.

[lordblackader]

On 5/23/2025 at 4:17 AM, DonniePeverley said:

 

 

I should stress it tops the list for a month or two. 

No it doesn't at all - it occasionally tops a list from IQAir titled "Live most polluted major city ranking" that only has 124 cities on it, only Chiang Mai and Bangkok in Thailand and excludes hundreds of places in China, India and elsewhere that are constantly higher and worse. 

And Chiang Mai isn't even the most polluted place in Thailand, let alone the world. 

https://www.iqair.com/world-air-quality-ranking

[motdaeng]

22 hours ago, lordblackader said:

No it doesn't at all - it occasionally tops a list from IQAir titled "Live most polluted major city ranking" that only has 124 cities on it, only Chiang Mai and Bangkok in Thailand and excludes hundreds of places in China, India and elsewhere that are constantly higher and worse. 

And Chiang Mai isn't even the most polluted place in Thailand, let alone the world. 

https://www.iqair.com/world-air-quality-ranking

 

you're right about your points, but it doesn't change the fact that chiang mai has only about 5 to 6 months of good air ...

 

[DonniePeverley]

1 hour ago, motdaeng said:

 

you're right about your points, but it doesn't change the fact that chiang mai has only about 5 to 6 months of good air ...

 

 

 

Can you do a comparison for Bangkok and Phuket ?

[motdaeng]

1 hour ago, DonniePeverley said:

Can you do a comparison for Bangkok and Phuket ?

 

here you can find the pollution levels, statistics, and historical data on air pollution in thialand ...

 

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

[khunphil]

On 5/22/2025 at 5:42 AM, DonniePeverley said:

This has to be a deal breaker for many. If i relocate my family, with school, you can't just change cities during a school term and get out of there during burning season.

 

Can someone tell me how bad this actually is? Those with experience on the ground. 

 

Thoughts?

Having lived in Chiangmai for over 25 years, I’d say it all depends on your concerns—and your family’s.

• You: During the worst days of the smoky season, staying indoors with the air conditioner and an air purifier solves most of the problem. But yes, it's not fun. If you're still working, it depends on your office environment. I keep an air purifier at work, just in case.

• Your family/wife: If she works, she'll face the same issues as you. If she doesn't care, then you might have a problem.

• Kids: Some schools have air conditioning, some have air purifiers, some change the filters when they're full, and some even remember to turn the purifiers on 😉. They rarely close, and they won’t cancel Sports Day—even if it’s smoky—because hey, the kids are wearing masks anyway!

The biggest issue I face is the typical “mai pen rai” (never mind) attitude. For example, coming home to find all the windows wide open while the air purifiers are running shows the problem isn’t really understood—or taken seriously. But... This Is Thailand (TIT).

If you're open to traveling down south—really south, like Surat Thani or further—during the bad weeks or months, and you’re fine enjoying a quiet life alone or with your wife, that could be a good option. This year though, even places like Hua Hin and Bangkok have had quite a few bad days, so it’s not an easy choice.

If you plan to stay here year-round, the smoke and how it’s handled can definitely be a challenge. Good luck!

[khunphil]

1 hour ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

 

Can you do a comparison for Bangkok and Phuket ?

Bangkok has a lot of historical data and as you can see, the "good days season" is quiet the same as Chiangmai . I would say the main difference is when this is bad , Chiangmai can be REALLY bad (maybe not much this year, but very true in 2024).

[DonniePeverley]

So it seems March and April are an absolute disaster in Chiang Mai. With January and February being bad too, but similar to Bangkok. 

[khunphil]

11 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

So it seems March and April are an absolute disaster in Chiang Mai. With January and February being bad too, but similar to Bangkok. 

Do not forget that pollution can vary from worst to best in just some hours, after some rain and wind. So, it is never easy to be sure what day it can be a charm. 

I remember one year, on a weekend, I drove to Phayao, near the lake, as the situation was a little bit better there ... and calling friends in Chiangmai, they told me that they had rain, and the sky and mountains were beautiful 🤬

[Woke to Sounds]

On 5/21/2025 at 4:42 PM, DonniePeverley said:

Can someone tell me how bad this actually is? Those with experience on the ground. 

 

I was there on a bike trip several Decembers ago and it was god awful then.

 

Can't imagine how noxious the air is these days.

 

I won't be back until the air is clean as America's.

[K2938]

On 5/22/2025 at 5:42 AM, DonniePeverley said:

Can someone tell me how bad this actually is? Those with experience on the ground. 

On a scale of 1-10 where 10 is the worst Chiang Mai during the burning season is about 20

[K2938]

On 5/23/2025 at 9:20 AM, simon43 said:

What I would be concerned about is the effect on the young lungs of your children. Do you really want to expose them to a high level of air pollution?  I can't think of anything positive about that.....

And the same also applies to adult lungs even for those who do not have any immediate symptoms.  Really bad for your health, huge increase in cancer and dementia risk and all kinds of other diseases.

[Woke to Sounds]

Who the hell wants to live with air purifiers as part of daily life?

 

Ridiculous.

 

In America nobody has to do that, not even in L.A. anymore.

 

Come on Thailand, clean up your act - literally

[hotsun]

9 minutes ago, Woke to Sounds said:

 

I was there on a bike trip several Decembers ago and it was god awful then.

 

Can't imagine how noxious the air is these days.

 

I won't be back until the air is clean as America's.

So never then

[FritsSikkink]

On 5/23/2025 at 4:38 AM, DonniePeverley said:

 

Why the defensive responses? 

 

I kept an eye on it last year as i was thinking of renting there, and it was up there as one of the most polluted cities for a few months. 

So why go there?

[DonniePeverley]

47 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

So why go there?

 

Partner been offered a job in a school there. Just exploring options. 

[DonniePeverley]

1 hour ago, K2938 said:

On a scale of 1-10 where 10 is the worst Chiang Mai during the burning season is about 20

 

 

That's devastating to hear, as whilst reading up on homes etc we really began to like it. 

 

April isn't too bad as we can leave, but February, March is awful. And some are rite, how can you live in indoors like that ? What would be the point in actively going into that type of zone. 

 

Still trying to work it out. 

[roo860]

1 minute ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

 

That's devastating to hear, as whilst reading up on homes etc we really began to like it. 

 

April isn't too bad as we can leave, but February, March is awful. And some are rite, how can you live in indoors like that ? What would be the point in actively going into that type of zone. 

 

Still trying to work it out. 

I'm out everyday regardless of the conditions, motorbike group still have rides, we don't let it bother us.

[K2938]

6 minutes ago, roo860 said:

'm out everyday regardless of the conditions, motorbike group still have rides, we don't let it bother us.

But it will bother your health regardless

[roo860]

36 minutes ago, K2938 said:

But it will bother your health regardless

Doesn't affect everyone 

[K2938]

1 minute ago, roo860 said:

Doesn't affect everyone 

I think one needs to differentiate two things:  Your subjective feeling about it (that might differ depending).  And the effect on your health.  I.e. even if if does not bother you, it will still be strongly detrimental to your health.  For you than kind of like x-rays which you might not notice, but which surely are bad for you.

[khunphil]

53 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

 

That's devastating to hear, as whilst reading up on homes etc we really began to like it. 

 

April isn't too bad as we can leave, but February, March is awful. And some are rite, how can you live in indoors like that ? What would be the point in actively going into that type of zone. 

 

Still trying to work it out. 

To be clear, this is rarely every day for 2 months.
Also, many of the foreigners who are complaining,  are anyway living indoor, as this is really hot as this time of the year, and they prefer to close all windows and stay with air-cond... So this should not bother them a lot ...
If they are going out for dinner, this will be in an  air-cond restaurant also.
 

The most affected are the one who like to live windows opened all year long, never use air, and love to run morning or evening ...

[roo860]

22 minutes ago, K2938 said:

I think one needs to differentiate two things:  Your subjective feeling about it (that might differ depending).  And the effect on your health.  I.e. even if if does not bother you, it will still be strongly detrimental to your health.  For you than kind of like x-rays which you might not notice, but which surely are bad for you.

One needs to differentiate bugger all, my lungs etc are in tip top shape, full medical every year, thanks for your concern.