Air Polution

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Now how can you do something about this? I would really like to make an effort to help out solve the parts of this problem that can be solved...

I think that you can forget about "solving" this problem.

Thailand is light years behind any realistic environmental controls.

The vehicles belch fumes (& smoke) the denizen's burn their rubbish, the rivers are open sewers, the factories dump their waste and then there are natural causes such as inversion conditions.

Forget it, if you are over 35-40 it will not change in your lifetime

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

In closing (this post) I personally think that at this moment in time that there is no real big problem regaring air quality.

Just because you can't see Doi Suthep it don't mean the end of the world. I was on the highway going north a few days back and I could hardly see the car in front. "it's called fog" or ask your GF "mawk"

I agree about it not changing much anytime soon. I have come to see the futility of discussing it here. It does seem like the changeover to new vehicles has made the roads more tolerable. A few years ago it was terrible bike riding up to Doi Suthep during the day but much more enjoyable now.

Right now the air is less than great but worlds better than it will be in March and April. You will dearly wish it was like Dec 14 come April. As for the current visibility its smog.(Fog + Smoke)= Smog.

[kalbo123]

Ban the songtaws.. could be a good start to clear the traffic and the air a bit...

Instead look for a cleaner (greener) way for public transportation.. maybe electriccars.. or even songtaw's but then have them really checked on there polution...

[Mapguy]

I really wish this thread would dissolve and people would at least post only to the other current thread. There has been a big problem with continuity in this discussion.

For those who won't do that, here's a modified post of my recent contribution. There are other posts important to consider:

Daily reports and historical records do reveal the seasonal nature of PM<10 pollution. You can make your own by going to the PCD (natrional Pollution Control Department) website You get a decent sense of the evolving scene. What is most notable, perhaps, is the striking similarity year to year with the exceptions of some few very, very nasty seasons in some years. If matters are getting better, they don't seem to be getting much better. Indeed, the most serious spikes were in 2007, just nasty pollution season before last.

As Priceless has pointed out, there are indeed problems having to do with data collection; very significantly, there are only two regular reporting stations in the broad metro area. Nonetheless, without pishing about, the air quality situation is fundamentally clear --- or should I say "hazy" --- at least for a sizable part of the year, and you don't need monitoring stations to notice that.

When does haze become serious in terms of public health? Well, that's an open and, in very large degree, subjective question --- even with the best science. There is research on the impact of pollution on public health in Chiang Mai, but, as I have pointed out earlier (giving reference generally to fairly easily obtainable information in English), it is limited. Somewhat analogous to the problem of only having only a couple of monitoring stations to gather "objective" data on the air that represents the whole area.

That leads me to suggest that the anecdotal experience that crops up over and over again in the various threads does indeed have value. I happen to be one of those people whose health isn't seriously bothered when the air gets nasty around Chiang Mai, but I know people who are bothered in various degrees, from mild discomfort to serious complications that require medical attention. In my own family, it amounts to seasonal increases in respiratory complaints, but no one is ever prostrate gasping for air.

Sometimes on these various threads it has been suggested that if you can't put up with the pollution in Chiang Mai, move elsewhere. That attitude troubles me. Perhaps that is fine for retired and relatively wealthy people, but it certainly is not at all sympathetic to those who can not move elsewhere as readily as they, summering here and wintering there!

Personal standards may indeed be more useful than standards and limits determined to measure the severity of air (or any sort of) pollution that are currently used. There are very serious compromises made in establishing standards that reflect the economic realities of dealing with pollution and the correlative political stakes involved. Sometimes, very unfortunately (depending upon your economic interests and politics), things can be pretty outrageous. Consider George W. Bush and his administration's policies regarding the environment over the past eight years.

Not often mentioned is the effect of pollution on enjoying the scenic beauty of Chiang Mai. After all, that's supposed to be a big (and very saleable) part of the charm of Chiang Mai. Even in the last couple of weeks (since the rain that "washes" the air has let up), it is worse. Simple observation toward or from Doi Suthep, or from a high elevation to the east of town looking west, shows that. If you compare such observations to the available "facts," that is the reported numbers on PM<10, the haze becomes really noticeable when the PM<10 count gets into the 30s. Now, understand, that that is considerably lower than the standardized danger level for public health established by Thailand (that is shared by many countries, so I am not Thai-bashing). Nonetheless, it is "funky" for tourism. Sorry, I have neither standards nor measuring devices for "funkiness," but I think you get my gist. The one noteable exception of this is if you are a bar fly or here as a sex tourist, but I gather elsewhere on TV that the options available aren't what they used to be.

Finally --- still with me! Sorry, I see some hands raised. Need to pee? Go ahead; we'll wait! --- a word about conspiracies! Recently, I read a post (by UG, I think, but I might be wrong; if so, apologies) speculating that there is some sort of ulterior motive of those who post concerns about pollution; that is that there are farang settled here that don't want any more farang to come so the former falsely bad mouth the place. I think that's a big stretch, but points for being creative! Much earlier on --- on other threads similar to this one --- it has been speculated often that people with economic interests in tourism deny a pollution problem and want to suppress any talk of it. I think it is fair to say that this is a valid concern --- and not just about people who happen to post here. Let's just say that there is some very, very big money that has been invested in Chiang Mai in recent years and that those people better have very, very deep pockets because the return on the investment is going to be slow in coming. Pollution is only part of the problem, of course; and that concern has been overshadowed by other more, shall we say, newsworthy events in Bangkok, principally. But I do believe that UG and others who are in businesses that rely on a healthy tourist trade are justifiably concerned about a "spillover" effect; that is, that given the seasonal (late February - early April) pollution problems, the bashers not only often go overboard and often don't (know about let alone) differentiate between different seasons here. At the same time, I worry increasingly about "shoulder" seasons. Right now, for example, air pollution is increasing --- pretty much as it does each year at this time. Should I worry about my health? No --- when I drive, I drive with the air con on with internal circulation of air (regardless of what Kevin Hunt speculates about my talents for farting) so I minimize the smoking exhausts in traffic --- but I do feel very, very sad that Doi Suthep, quite visible from my house, is now normally masked by haze throughout the day.

Before I leave you sobbing in your beer, have faith! You can do something! Sensible heads aren't ignoring the problem. There are personal steps people can take that have been provided on previous threads to this one on the same topic, especially in March-April 2007. Take the time to identify and read them. Summing them up, you can work with your neighbors and your moo baan. There are groups and organizations to join. Be a helpfully squeaky wheel!

Cheers!