Dust Alert In All Eight Of Thailand's Northern Provinces

[bristolgeoff]

every year it is the same,sometimes worse than other years.somehow i think it will never change.does anyone have any answers that they will listen too,i don,t

[leafmould]

Yes, this shows how ridiculously lazy the people are here and what a third rate, third world place Thailand is. Thats yet another reason why i love it. I'd much rather have wood smoke than london or NY polution. Don't like the black smoke from tuk tuk and songthiew tho.

[MESmith]

Yes, this shows how ridiculously lazy the people are here and what a third rate, third world place Thailand is. Thats yet another reason why i love it. I'd much rather have wood smoke than london or NY polution. Don't like the black smoke from tuk tuk and songthiew tho.

You like the wood smoke, but not the exhaust fumes? It's not "pick 'n' mix"

[invex]

How come?

Yingluck told and promised us all earlier this year: NO SMOG/DUST in 2013. She would do everything necessary, Even jail some.....

Maybe a misunderstanding. This is going on for 20 years + and even her brother told us not to worry as well. Big brother promised almost 10 years ago fish would swim in the klongs within 6 months? All water treatment plants in Chiang Mai have never been used coz not one works..... how come?

[Banzai99]

This really shows what a backward third world country Thailand is. Unfortunately, it's just a dusty.... sorry, smoky reflection of the dysfunctionality at all government levels.

Think yourself lucky you don't have to stay in Thailand, unlike the majority of Thais who don't have the luxury of choice.

[zakk9]

This really shows what a backward third world country Thailand is. Unfortunately, it's just a dusty.... sorry, smoky reflection of the dysfunctionality at all government levels.

Think yourself lucky you don't have to stay in Thailand, unlike the majority of Thais who don't have the luxury of choice.

What I can or cannot is totally irrelevant. The environment and health for millions of people are knowingly destroyed. That doesn't change even if I move to the South Pole.

[belg]

all be well soon, songkran is coming and much water sprayed in the air will make everything better

(sarcastic, off course)

sad news over & over again, this time of period... why not burn down all the forests at once?

[ZhouZhou]

Mid afternoon and I am watching billows of smoke coming up right off HWY 107 in Mae Taeng. No one can miss it but it's just business as usual so no worries.

Why don't the BIB set up mountainside checks for anyone with matches or a lighter, and fine them 300 bht.

But hand out 500 bht to anyone with a hose pipe.

the world is probably not that simple.

[orang37]

zakk9: "That doesn't change even if I move to the South Pole."

But, the South Pole could be so cool ! Emperor Penguins, auroras, meteorites: what's not to like ?

~o:37;

Edited March 23, 2013 by orang37

[zakk9]

zakk9: "That doesn't change even if I move to the South Pole."

But, the South Pole could be so cool !

~o:37;

... and hardly any forest fires at all

[marstons]

The SMOKE gets worse, year on year - Chiang Mai has seen a worsening this week in particular. Listening to the tourists going around town and everyone is complaining about it - hopefully they pass on this information through social media because it is only when the tourism figures drop that the authorities will actually do anything about it (even then, it's only a strong maybe of that happening)

I for one am sick and tired of listening to media reports whereby "the government are looking into it" - words are cheap, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !

I agree that News Channels should be covering this in greater detail and embarrass the local authorities into ACTION, as it is the only way that progress will be made. This is affecting the health of tens of thousands of people

Instead of "Amazing Thailand", why not tell then truth and make it "A Haze Over Thailand"

Does anybody really think Yingluck and co give a rats arse about smoke or tourism, does it effect them personally no, does it decrease there mega bucks, no. Its just anther thing we have to put up with if we choose to live here

[A Member]

Perhaps it would help if those idle lazy buggers in the national embassy's would issue travel alerts to their nationals concerning the hazards to their health. Yet we all sit by and let it happen year after year. Take years of your life, visit Thailand.

Embassies are often cagey about upsetting the host nation. Many years ago in Manila I was introduced to two German reporters there to cover an APEC summit. They said they had an excellent orientation presentation at the German Embassy which ended with a plea not to write anything adverse about what they saw around, the city such as beggars at every intersection, potholes as deep as a trench at the Somme and so on. The diplomatic officer conducted the briefing said in effect ' you write the stories, no matter how accurate, then leave the country and we have to placate the Foreign Ministry. "

I suppose it could be called diplomacy but no excuse for not representing the interests of their nationals.

[jackr]

Instead of "Amazing Thailand", why not tell then truth and make it "A Haze Over Thailand"

Or 'Hazing Thailand', 'Amazing Hazeland'?

Even if they somehow culled all slash 'n burn in Muang Thai, it wouldn't change much... most of it comes across from Burma and there is also a lot of dust in the air through the dryness of the ground at this time.

[T_Dog]

My experience is that the pollution is a local Thailand problem caused by burning in the rural hills and mountains. (And local vehicle pollution in the cities.) Last night was typical with visible fires in the hills and along the roads with a heavy concentration of bad air this morning. Stop the local burning (highly unlikely) and Thailand would be very clean. PM 2.5 and PM10 particles are a bit heavy and do not travel very far unless a strong wind blows.

http://www.airinfonow.org/html/ed_particulate.html

[zydeco]

Hello everyone

I've been following this forum for a month now and this is my first post.

I am planning to be a teacher in Chiang Mai for a year, but after reading this thread I am having some second thoughts...

Guys, please tell me this ridiculous burning and smog is happening only in March and the rest of the year is all nice and fresh? If it's not...

And I am guessing that the farmers are burning the forests so they can grow crop or are there any other reasons?

Kop khun for the info!

No, the burning is not all year round. During the rainy season, you'll get some landslides, in part because of the all the hillside soil made unstable by slash and burning earlier.

[Ambrosia]

Down here in western Bangkok, we get floods every now and then. A year and a half ago we got the big one. Up north, you get the burn every year. I don't know which is worse. But I think I'd rather take my chances with the flood. Thailand, where we're either drowning or choking. That is, when the skeeters aren't biting us to death. Nonetheless, I do love it, here. Beats West Nile and the drug cartels and banksters back home.

We were here for the big flood a year and a half ago. It started in the north, had to move hotels when the river flooded over. So I guess we can get both ends of it. So I need to be getting some masks then? Any suggestions of which ones? It's probably what's aggravated my chest congestion so bad.

[spectrumisgreen]

It is quite embarrasing that the heartland of PTP with their supposed power, cannot convince anyone that burning everything has a detrimental effect in general to EVERYONE>

They'd have to be motivated to do so, first ('Baht yuu tii-nai?').. and care about 'their own' beyond just how much they can use the numbers they summon/ have shipped to Bkk, periodically, for 'rallies'.. I'm pretty happy in Thailand, have no intention to go back and live in the UK, but - yup - gets pretty frustrating at times the very evident b******s the incumbent government(s) come out with just NOT to really take care of things in their own country.. (another smoke - cough! - 'dust'screen, methinks!)...

[spectrumisgreen]

Hello everyone

I've been following this forum for a month now and this is my first post.

I am planning to be a teacher in Chiang Mai for a year, but after reading this thread I am having some second thoughts...

Guys, please tell me this ridiculous burning and smog is happening only in March and the rest of the year is all nice and fresh? If it's not...

And I am guessing that the farmers are burning the forests so they can grow crop or are there any other reasons?

Kop khun for the info!

No, the burning is not all year round. During the rainy season, you'll get some landslides, in part because of the all the hillside soil made unstable by slash and burning earlier.

I've been here in Chiang Mai for six years (as an English teacher, weekdays for the last few months teaching in Lamphun 25+ km away).. no it's not all year around and I'm still happy to be here despite these occasional - or once a year in this case - hassles or frustrations. If you like the the place don't be too put off. Its a generally pretty good place to be, I reckon, and there's still lots of those hills with trees and plants (and with the odd temple poking through, very picturesque!) to keep the air a lot better than in the heart of, say, Bangkok! Air pollution, as we know, is a serious world issue and the frustrating thing here is that the root of this particular problem comes very much from lax government handling of it.. literally could be put out at the base of the fire, if they'd only be more serious about those who break the law (which is what people are doing!) and get them to REALLY understand just what harm this yearly hazing does. Whatever you decide, all the best for the future...

Edited March 24, 2013 by spectrumisgreen

[bigbamboo]

Hello everyone

I've been following this forum for a month now and this is my first post.

I am planning to be a teacher in Chiang Mai for a year, but after reading this thread I am having some second thoughts...

Guys, please tell me this ridiculous burning and smog is happening only in March and the rest of the year is all nice and fresh? If it's not...

And I am guessing that the farmers are burning the forests so they can grow crop or are there any other reasons?

Kop khun for the info!

No, the burning is not all year round. During the rainy season, you'll get some landslides, in part because of the all the hillside soil made unstable by slash and burning earlier.

I've been here in Chiang Mai for six years (as an English teacher, weekdays for the last few months teaching in Lamphun 25+ km away).. no it's not all year around and I'm still happy to be here despite these occasional - or once a year in this case - hassles or frustrations. If you like the the place don't be too put off. Its a generally pretty good place to be, I reckon, and there's still lots of those hills with trees and plants (and with the odd temple poking through, very picturesque!) to keep the air a lot better than in the heart of, say, Bangkok! Air pollution, as we know, is a serious world issue and the frustrating thing here is that the root of this particular problem comes very much from lax government handling of it.. literally could be put out at the base of the fire, if they'd only be more serious about those who break the law (which is what people are doing!) and get them to REALLY understand just what harm this yearly hazing does. Whatever you decide, all the best for the future...

Pretty much on the money. F.A.B. in fact.

[ginjag]

Really I for one are fed up to the teeth readind threads about DUST ALERTS, Smoke pollution, main cause.

How many more threads on DUST trying to create a hub for dust,

[canopy]

Well they used to called them wildfires as if they were some sort of natural occurrence, but I think the satellite imagery of thousands of dots everywhere fires were being started on a daily basis pretty much debunked that notion. They also usually blame nearby countries for all of the smoke. This year it seems the strategy has changed to call it dust instead of smoke to make it sound better and have a few airplane circling to act like their is improvement when actually nothing has changed.

The farmers around my area are all in that last giant push to burn everything they can in their fields which they will continue to do until the rains start. As far as I can see, every farmer loves burning their land and several have expressed puzzlement to even being irked as to why I never light mine ablaze. They think it is so much prettier when you burn everything down. Their carelessness have caused 4 forest fires in the national forest this month adding much "dust" to Thailand's atmosphere not to mention ruining rare habitat and trees. One fire nearly got to my land today. If I wasn't around it would have. At first I was stupidly in disbelief that a neighbor let his fire cross into the national forest. When I saw the wall of fire approaching incinerating big trees in balls of fire I called the forestry hotline immediately--only to discover their phone was turned off and got the AIS callback service message! I then called the police who could hear the fire raging and had to yell for them to hear me over it. I then spent what seemed an eternity with a shovel to keep the fire away from my area. It was a hot, desperate battle on steep slopes with everything really dry and flammable and always a risk of going ablaze myself with my rubber boots and straw hat which is all I had. At one point a guy on a motorcycle stopped and watched me. I explained the gravity of the situation. He casually nodded and meandered off. Never have I felt so alone. The forestry guys showed up a couple hours later. By that time I had saved my area and the national forest behind it by putting out breakouts that jumped the road which was terrifying as these spot fires grew quickly and furiously and there were flames up to several stories high just across a narrow dirt road. The forestry guys seemed to only have a pickup with a few barrels of water and a coil of hose and pump which was surprisingly effective in containing the fire though there were a few breakouts that they had to scramble to deal with. When it was over it was snowing chunks of ashes. This has been the worst year of burning I have seen and there is a long way to go still.

[Blueyeshh]

North combat equipment