1 hour ago, youreavinalaff said:

You've been to everywhere in Isaan? That's quite incredible. Impossible, actually.

I'm omnipresent in Isaan.

On 4/6/2026 at 1:02 PM, Skeety65 said:

Most people don’t understand how serious this pollution is

"The standard human condition is greed and stupidity" - Charlie Munger 

8 - 9 million people around the world die every year from air pollution. The recent UN Special rapporteur on air pollution interview was an interesting read

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/07/un-expert-human-rights-climate-crisis-economy

over 40 million people have died of air pollution since I became special rapporteur in 2018, yet I just can’t get people to care.

“I can’t get people to bat an eyelash. It’s like there’s something wrong with our brains that we can’t understand just how grave this situation is.”

It's one reason I have a summer home in a regional area of Tasmania, Australia, which has the cleanest air in the world as the prevailing breezes cross several thousand km of uninhabited ocean. Also some of the reason I like the islands of the Philippines. Many years ago I lived in Sihanoukville, it had clean air down near Otres. Alas, those days have passed

Back to Thailand, Koh Chang perhaps ?

AQI here in Ubon is currently 105 with a temperature of 41c.

Tomorrow and Friday AQI is predicted to be 70 and 75.

Hope this helps.

3 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

You've been to everywhere in Isaan? That's quite incredible. Impossible, actually.

I've been to almost everywhere in Isan. Not everywhere 🙄 but every province, and many of the amphurs in each. 17 yrs living there, and I took advantage of every short or long weekend, and all 3 months of school breaks to see the country.

17 X 40 = 680 weekends 🙄

School breaks were usually out of Udon & Isan completely.

On 4/5/2026 at 4:08 PM, hughrection said:

My wife and I need to escape the pollution that is all over the north of the country.

When looking at the various AQI websites, I am getting conflicting scores.

I would rather that it came from 'the horse's mouth', so please tell me if the air is actually clean where you live. We will he heading away from the north as far as we need to go, to find AQI ratings around 90 or less. Nowhere chosen yet, until I talk to you guys and hopefully, get some feedback.

Many thanks, if you can help.

Air is beautifully clear in North Queensland. Take a holiday.

NaJomtien Silverlake area, today been working in the garden most of the day air quality not bad.
Photos doggie walking this afternoon shows the air quality.

20 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I've been to almost everywhere in Isan. Not everywhere 🙄 but every province, and many of the amphurs in each. 17 yrs living there, and I took advantage of every short or long weekend, and all 3 months of school breaks to see the country.

17 X 40 = 680 weekends 🙄

School breaks were usually out of Udon & Isan completely.

As I said to another poster, not everywhere. That would be impossible. Thanks for confirmation.

I'm a snowbird and only reside in isan for 179 days now. We all know why. I've just returned to the UK when the heat and air quality became very unpleasant a couple of weeks ago. I have thought about what I would do in this awful Thai season, which is getting worse, If I ever live in Thailand full time. Someone brought to my attention that the central coast in Vietnam, though not far away, is actually about 10°C cooler at this time of year and the air quality is usually much better. So Da Nang and Hoi An is where I would be heading if I were you. Very easy and cheap to get to with a couple of flights, If you don't fancy going over land through Lao for a rough and ready adventure. Good luck wherever you go.

On 4/5/2026 at 1:08 PM, hughrection said:

My wife and I need to escape the pollution that is all over the north of the country.

When looking at the various AQI websites, I am getting conflicting scores.

I would rather that it came from 'the horse's mouth', so please tell me if the air is actually clean where you live. We will he heading away from the north as far as we need to go, to find AQI ratings around 90 or less. Nowhere chosen yet, until I talk to you guys and hopefully, get some feedback.

Many thanks, if you can help.

Check any pollution map iqair.com, etc look for the lowest, move there

On 4/8/2026 at 12:14 PM, KhunLA said:

I guess I should mention, the more scenic part of the route, is a bit below Khanom Beach. A very nice road with viewpoints and coffee shops, restaurants along the way.

Most beautiful is a stretch, and not a road for playing on with your scooter, but nice views, and only takes about 30 longer, to get to NST, from the hwy 41 turn off, vs inland road, if headed to NST.

@4:30 of vid ...

Indeed, this area is quite amazing, far away from the hustle and bustle of other mass-tourism hot spots.

The beautiful Khanom to Sichon Road and Khanom district beaches are some of my favorites.

Pollution readings from monitors stuck on skyscrapers do give you one reading, but the real danger you will face in Thailand is car emissions. There is literally no control on this - and you regularly get public busses, cars blowing black smoke all over the place. THIS IS THE REAL DANGER on ground level.

I rely on a mix of PurpleAir maps and just looking at the horizon for haze, because AQI apps jump around a lot. Some spots down south stay clearer, but it can shift with wind, so getting eyes-on when you arrive is the safest bet. At home I use a traditional meditation wax melt to clear lingering smoke smells, and it’s helped me cope on bad AQI days while traveling too.

Edited June 23Jun 23 by Arrecebes

Where I live not far from Kantharalak is usually clean. Southern Isaan usually is like this, although it's not known for much besides farming.The map here shows what's it's usually like...................https://www.accuweather.com/en/th/lamduan/321037/air-quality-index/321037.