Smog 'red Alert' For North Thailand

[BrianCR]

What are us mugs up here in the North mean`t to do about it?

Walk about in a giant bubble? Hold our breaths for the next few months?

Go home?

[BrianCR]

I live S/E of Udon Thani, in the rice fields there. The smog and smoke are now so thick in the evenings, That you can actually look directly at the sun with no ill effects. Very little of the suns rays are able to penetrate it because of no winds to move it away. The locals, of course are not helping either, they have torched everything for klicks in all directions. Been like this as long as I have been here. Nothing has changed nor will it........

Lets blame Thaksin!

[KhunVee]

What's it like in Chiang Mai and Phayao? Heading there soon..

Terrible !!!

[bigbamboo]

stop being so negative

Another chance for a smiling Yingluck on a huge poster saying 'stop burning'!

Wonder if she thinks it's for the benefit of Thailand (and her supporters are in the North don't forget), or whether she just sees it as a chance to get her face on a poster.

The burning hasn't stopped in CM. The PT MPs who control CM have done nothing to alleviate matters so maybe it's time to give an independent or even a Dem a chance to see what they can do.

Hey, isn't there an election due here soon?

Edited March 18, 2013 by bigbamboo

[cardinalblue]

Don;t get all hung up on these PEL regualtory standards. They are really arbitrary numbers chosen by regulatorsto give the public and themselves osme idea on in this case air quality...

What they want you to believe is 120 is a magical number that the gov desperately wants to keep below this measurement and then they can say it is safe and not unhealthy....

Not true...many people will experience adverse health effect at numbers well below 120 just as many people will not have any effects on readings above 120. It is called human variation caused by many factors...

The setting and interpretation of standards is not a science. It is gudeline more for the regulators to gauge what is a happening and a general idea for the public at large. It is not for individuals to assess themselves against that anything below 120 is safe and anything above is unhealthy....

Health effects for individuals due to exposure do not work that way...

I have to look it up PM10 standards are much lower in the USA and western Europe because they meaning their govs know they can achieve them b/c so much engineering, administrative and other protective measures are put in place to achieve readings belows these arbitrary standards...

I have no idea why Thailand chose 120 other than history and most of the entire year is below this number other than for what 10-15 days a year it exceeds it. It's political decision not based on medical studies...

Thailand copies almost all their health and safety standards from the West as to my knowlwdge they do very little scientific research themselves. If they know they can't achieve western standards (quantitative numbers) they just inflate them upwards so the public can digest/believe them and then say anything below this number is safe and anything above is unsafe...

In their defense, rearding air contaminants, we do the same (remember, we extrapolate to human health from animal studies) as it is easier to educate a public on a linear relationship than a complex scatterplot. The problem is the West has much strictor air exposure standards that dev countries would struggle to set and obtain.....

Just don't all hung up up to 120 is safe and above is not. Let your own body's signs and symptoms decide what is safe and unsafe (and that has its limitations such as unknown long-term health effects exhibiting no symptoms during exposure)

Got to run...

CB

[Thai at Heart]

"The standard level is 120 microgrammes"

That's wrong, 120 (micrograms of sub-10-micron particles per cubic meter of air) is where it gets unhealthy. Above 200 you should stay indoors. In the past 10 years I've seen Chiang Mai go over 300 (in 2010) and Mae Hong Son hit 520! (in 2007). Today's PM10 reading in Chiang Mai is 110, so while it's bad it could be (has been) far worse. I have land in Mae Rim surrounded by rice fields and do photos every now and then to document the air quality.

The real issue is, did you get your mask, or do they need to order more?

[Thai at Heart]

stop being so negative

Another chance for a smiling Yingluck on a huge poster saying 'stop burning'!

Wonder if she thinks it's for the benefit of Thailand (and her supporters are in the North don't forget), or whether she just sees it as a chance to get her face on a poster.

The burning hasn't stopped in CM. The PT MPs who control CM have done nothing to alleviate matters so maybe it's time to give an independent or even a Dem a chance to see what they can do.

Hey, isn't there an election due here soon?

Actually this is an extremely local pooyai ban issue

[millwall_fan]

...can someone point out the normal or safe level so we can have some perspective here.....

They did in the article: they said 120 microgrammes was average

I understand the EU level for PM10's is not to exceed 50 in ant 24 hours period or 20 in any 30 day period.

stop being so negative

Another chance for a smiling Yingluck on a huge poster saying 'stop burning'!

Wonder if she thinks it's for the benefit of Thailand (and her supporters are in the North don't forget), or whether she just sees it as a chance to get her face on a poster.

The burning hasn't stopped in CM. The PT MPs who control CM have done nothing to alleviate matters so maybe it's time to give an independent or even a Dem a chance to see what they can do.

Hey, isn't there an election due here soon?

Dr. Duengtemdeng Na Chiang Mai was Democrat mayor for several years over the coup period and pollution levels were no better under her. The previous governor (appointed by the coup government) K. Diskul was a Democrat and he was involved last year in one of most ridiculous publicity stunts of recent years when he was viewed (by me in my car and millions of al Jazeera viewers around the world) driving round the moat with some antiquated fire engines firing water into the air for the cameras - to show he was dealing with the issue of course!

This is not a local party political matter it is an issue for the whole of South East Asia. The government have tried to work with village headmen to stop the burning on a local level, but this is a country of abundant growth and until some other way of removing excess foliage is found, the habits of centuries will not be easily eliminated. There is also the issue of urban pollution. nothing is done to stop dirty polluting Songthaew and other vehicles belching their fumes into the air. ....which is a shame because its difficult to tell my 5 year old not to run about or play outside.....

Edited March 18, 2013 by millwall_fan

[Thai at Heart]

...can someone point out the normal or safe level so we can have some perspective here.....

They did in the article: they said 120 microgrammes was average

I understand the EU level for PM10's is not to exceed 50 in ant 24 hours period or 20 in any 30 day period.

stop being so negative

Another chance for a smiling Yingluck on a huge poster saying 'stop burning'!

Wonder if she thinks it's for the benefit of Thailand (and her supporters are in the North don't forget), or whether she just sees it as a chance to get her face on a poster.

The burning hasn't stopped in CM. The PT MPs who control CM have done nothing to alleviate matters so maybe it's time to give an independent or even a Dem a chance to see what they can do.

Hey, isn't there an election due here soon?

Dr. Duengtemdeng Na Chiang Mai was Democrat mayor for several years over the coup period and pollution levels were no better under her. The previous governor (appointed by the coup government) K. Diskul was a Democrat and he was involved last year in one of most ridiculous publicity stunts of recent years when he was viewed (by me in my car and millions of al Jazeera viewers around the world) driving round the moat with some antiquated fire engines firing water into the air for the cameras - to show he was dealing with the issue of course!

This is not a local party political matter it is an issue for the whole of South East Asia. The government have tried to work with village headmen to stop the burning on a local level, but this is a country of abundant growth and until some other way of removing excess foliage is found, the habits of centuries will not be easily eliminated. There is also the issue of urban pollution. nothing is done to stop dirty polluting Songthaew and other vehicles belching their fumes into the air. ....which is a shame because its difficult to tell my 5 year old not to run about or play outside.....

A local pooyaiban is elected every 2 years.

Good luck winning the next rejection

[thailandist]

Not that bad this year in Chiang Mai. Today a nice breeze came into the valley and most smog disappeared and the wind has changed to southern directions.

Interesting, I couldn't see Doi Suthep at all day today because the smoke was so bad.

[Captain_Bob]

Dry season shitty air and drought has been a recurring issue every year for longer than most of us have lived here.

Live with it, get pissed-off, or keep blogging about it and pressuring via social networks until the right people lose enough face to actually get off their arse.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Captain_Bob

[MilesCh]

Live within a kilometer of Airport Plaza in Chiang Mai, yesterday I walked out the door to find very limited vision. the strong smell of smoke, and smoke rising in the air. A neighbor was burning greenery scraped up into one area close to the wall separating our lands and without wind the smoke was going straight up and very visible. I'm certain nothing was done! What phone number should be called when one sees burning and do they speak English?

[Beetlejuice]

What are us mugs up here in the North mean`t to do about it?

Walk about in a giant bubble? Hold our breaths for the next few months?

Air con

Or is your health not worth it?

Still have to breath when I go out.

[NongKhaiKid]

Great can we have a yellow, pink, green, and violet alert later?? I like all the colours, means nothing as usual . and nothing will change.

This is an annual situation and doesn't help the area's appeal to tourists. As already said nothing will change but the annual assurances will be given, the annual exercise of failing to stop it or locate those responsible will continue. See you in 2014

[IMHO]

I can´t imagine that airco helps, rather it blows the particles directly into your lungs. Or do you know if ,e.g. the addition of 3M filters provides for an effective filtering?

An aircon unit with a HEPA rated filter will certainly help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HEPA

Saijo Denki are probably the most prominent brand in Thailand with HEPA grade filtration.

[Chao Lao Beach]

What are us mugs up here in the North mean`t to do about it?

Walk about in a giant bubble? Hold our breaths for the next few months?

Move to where the air is clear

[salapau]

" slash and burn agriculture " illegal ? So why does it carry on every year ? Big problem at the moment for us living in Mae Sariang where you can see the smoke in the mountains all day, every day, are the authorities blind ?

[fareastguy]

As it's now an illegal act to start forest fires, wouldn't it be better to supply a nice 6ft x 6ft room for the culprits,

instead of supplying free masks ??

Or just one room for the "governor who's supposed to regulate this ??

Edited March 19, 2013 by fareastguy

[stevehaigh]

What are us mugs up here in the North mean`t to do about it?

Walk about in a giant bubble? Hold our breaths for the next few months?

Move?

We were considering moving further north but are heading SE instead now; no smog, flooding or Tsunami.

Daresay something else will get us instead :-)

i'm in ko phangan at the moment, absolutely perfect blue sky, cool fresh breeze, very nice.

[jackr]

" slash and burn agriculture " illegal ? So why does it carry on every year ? Big problem at the moment for us living in Mae Sariang where you can see the smoke in the mountains all day, every day, are the authorities blind ?

Until they start hanging the firestarters and subjecting the landowners to million-baht fines, nothing will change.

[Longtooth]

I can´t imagine that airco helps, rather it blows the particles directly into your lungs. Or do you know if ,e.g. the addition of 3M filters provides for an effective filtering?

Yeah, I used the 3M filters that go over the foam in the aircon. It appeared they worked really well, but they are not always available to buy at Homemart and such. I sleep with an Amway big filter machine in the bedroom, with the door and windows shut. Specs say it's super good for a HEPA filter. (Probably the most expensive of the breed as well, but I think my health is worth it.) When you open the bedroom door in the morning you smell smoke in the rest of the house and outside, because your room and your nose are clear, and you can notice the difference.. Eight hours not breathing smoke has got to be a good help, I think.

[chiang mai]

I used to have an engineer chum here who bought an old vacum cleaner motor and rigged it up to run full time drawing air from the outside into his apartment (through a filter). That, combined with the use of Hepa filters on top of his air con filters made for a wonderfully clean apartment and surprisingly fresh air, even during the worse bparts fo the burning season, apparently the air drawn in from the outside made for positive air pressure in the room, which then allowed the air con filters to do their work properly, am unsure how much his electric bills were however! .

[EyesWideOpen]

Why I left Chiang Mai.......

[sammys]

I have a bunch of brand new Respro Sportsta masks (black) and extra filters I brought with me. Anyone interested in buying these? Sizes L (12 masks) and M (4 masks).

[Noistar]

The problems in Thailand would be well on their way to getting sorted if the laws were enforced.

I could go on all day about motorbikes, but the same holds true anywhere.

The laws are there - the Government needs to put people first and apply them.

But TIT - forget the people, only money counts.

(BTW, just got back from RAM. Never had trouble with my sinuses in 50 years. Doctor said it's down to the 'bad air'. So, how is CM? Not so good)

[ginjag]

" slash and burn agriculture " illegal ? So why does it carry on every year ? Big problem at the moment for us living in Mae Sariang where you can see the smoke in the mountains all day, every day, are the authorities blind ?

YES

[thaibeachlovers]

What's it like in Chiang Mai and Phayao? Heading there soon..

I live 1/2 hour south of C M, and don't notice it, but the sunsets are amazing.

I was up near the C M airport this morning, and the air seemed clear. Perhaps it's only up in the hills that it's really bad.

[RubbaJohnny]

Fine at present on the Mekhong Riviera of Chiang Rai thanks to breezes.

While in no way scientific I think I have seldom seen so few fires in 8 years hereabouts.

My lungs tell me its fresher than Soi 11 Sukhumvit where I stay when in BKK.

[thaibeachlovers]

What's it like in Chiang Mai and Phayao? Heading there soon..

I live 1/2 hour south of C M, and don't notice it, but the sunsets are amazing.

I was up near the C M airport this morning, and the air seemed clear. Perhaps it's only up in the hills that it's really bad.

I'll amend that- I was in C M yesterday, and it was thick. My eyes have been irritated recently, and now I know why. The haze extends south at least as far as Lamphun.

If you have respiratory problems, I recommend you don't visit C M area till after the burning season.

Edited March 22, 2013 by thaibeachlovers

[chiang mai]

But interesting to see first hand yesterday the so called micro-climates that exist around Lamphun, I posted elsewhere that we were in a temple in Lamphun when we looked up and realised we were in the clear blue with completely fresh air, anyone else seen this or anyone from Lamphun for comment?