Picture courtesy of Newna.

 

Bangkok is stepping up efforts to combat air pollution by joining forces with leading global cities under the Breathe Cities initiative and officially committing to the C40 Cities Clean Air Accelerator.

 

On 2 September, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, together with senior advisers and sustainability executives from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), attended the Breathe Cities workshop at Moonlight Hall, Jim Thompson House. Bangkok now joins 50 major cities including London, Jakarta, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro in pledging to meet national air quality standards and work towards the World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmarks.

 

Governor Chadchart stressed that success depends on cooperation across all sectors, highlighting Bangkok’s proactive projects to reduce harmful dust. These include:

 

• Monitoring and alerts such as the “Dust Detectives” and real-time online warnings.

 

• Source reduction, including black smoke inspections, the creation of Low Emission Zones (restricting poorly maintained lorries), a “This Vehicle Reduces Dust” campaign, distribution of straw compressors to farmers to reduce burning and work-from-home schemes.

 

• Public protection, including pollution clinics, dust-free classrooms and a large-scale tree planting campaign. Bangkok has already surpassed its target of one million trees, planting more than two million to date.

 

“Air pollution is a critical issue that affects health, the economy and society,” Chadchart said. “It is not enough to focus only on enforcement, we must understand why people keep using old vehicles or why farmers continue to burn crops, often because the alternatives are more expensive. Every sector must work together to address these root causes for a sustainable solution.”

 

The city outlined six projects under the Breathe Cities framework, including: a clean air management roadmap; integration of air, health and community data; support for sustainable public transport and parking policy; mapping of air quality and vulnerable groups; designing and evaluating Low Emission Zones and studying health impacts of air pollution to support awareness and policymaking.

 

Bangkok’s participation in the initiative is backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Clean Air Fund and C40. It builds on last year’s engagement and comes as the capital braces for the PM2.5 smog season. Officials emphasised the need for joint efforts by government, academia, private sector, international organisations and youth movements, learning from global partners to shape locally effective strategies.

 

Environmental advocates including Kriangkrai Thiennukul, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries and Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana, Director of the Hub of Talents on Air Pollution and Climate, voiced support alongside international experts and public figures such as Vivian Pan, Technical Lead for Breathe Cities in Southeast Asia, and actor-environmentalist Alex Rendell.

 

The BMA noted that the Clean Air Act currently under parliamentary review will strengthen the city’s authority to implement measures. The ultimate goal, officials said, is to achieve sustainable improvements in air quality for all residents, particularly vulnerable groups most affected by pollution.

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Naewna 2025-09-03

 

 

 

22 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

Bangkok is stepping up efforts to combat air pollution by joining forces with leading global cities under the Breathe Cities initiative and officially committing to the C40 Cities Clean Air Accelerator.

So they have been combating air pollution for 40 years and its only getting worse.

Looking forward to seeing thailands AQI in a couple months

5 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

So they have been combating air pollution for 40 years and its only getting worse.

People said it was way worst 40years ago. More fumes everywhere and diesel all over. Now they have electric vehicles. 

43 minutes ago, Maxbkkcm said:

People said it was way worst 40years ago. More fumes everywhere and diesel all over. Now they have electric vehicles. 

Dude. Trust me.  its worse.

It seems that officials etc don't really "tackle" problems.  It's more like they are playing "touch football"... or maybe 'block and tackle'?