Smoke, Smog, Dust 2014 Chiang Mai

[dutchkev]

I can look out my window , I can can also hear the bamboo cracking now

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[chiang mai]

I don't deny there's a lot of burning that takes place in N & N/W Thailand, the issue though is where does the majority of pollution currently affecting Chiang Mai come from.

The short answers include, external countries such as Myanmar, Laos and North Vietnam (the fire maps confirm) combined with the topography of northern Thailand and the inversion layer. It is therefore massively incorrect to assume that, just because you see fires every night (I'd move closer into town if I were you), the cause of the current pollution is derived from within Thailand's borders.

[Joop50]

Yesterday the worst day so far here in Thaton, no sunshine at all and no moon vissable also. Today a little better but still very bad.

[dutchkev]

I agree with u , I'm sure Thailand's neighbours have a lot to do with our pollution problems , but they need to do something about their own country , the back of Doi Sutep is only a 30-40 min drive from town and they can't even stop the burning their , let's face it they do nothing , I can see 2 fires burning now , and it's daytime , they burnt almost all the hills in my area , and it's all so they can harvest mushrooms, I'm sure I read somewhere the government had allocated 20 million , to stop the burning,

Wonder what's happened to that!!

And no I would not like to move nearer to the town , even though I can see the fires I think the pollution is worst in the town itself , than anywhere else

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[chiang mai]

I agree with u , I'm sure Thailand's neighbours have a lot to do with our pollution problems , but they need to do something about their own country , the back of Doi Sutep is only a 30-40 min drive from town and they can't even stop the burning their , let's face it they do nothing , I can see 2 fires burning now , and it's daytime , they burnt almost all the hills in my area , and it's all so they can harvest mushrooms, I'm sure I read somewhere the government had allocated 20 million , to stop the burning,

Wonder what's happened to that!!

And no I would not like to move nearer to the town , even though I can see the fires I think the pollution is worst in the town itself , than anywhere else

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OK, so now we're talking about two different problems, one is the less significant contribution of rural people in Thailand to problems in CM during burning season - the second is the much larger problem, pollution in northern Thailand during burning season, let's not confuse the two.

[Tywais]

Have not been able to access aqmthai.com all morning to check the readings today. Of course some here will say it is a conspiracy by the government to hide the truth. Anyone able to access it?

//edit - ok, looks like the site is down - http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/aqmthai.com

[T_Dog]

I don't deny there's a lot of burning that takes place in N & N/W Thailand, the issue though is where does the majority of pollution currently affecting Chiang Mai come from.

The short answers include, external countries such as Myanmar, Laos and North Vietnam (the fire maps confirm) combined with the topography of northern Thailand and the inversion layer. It is therefore massively incorrect to assume that, just because you see fires every night (I'd move closer into town if I were you), the cause of the current pollution is derived from within Thailand's borders.

Winds from the south are clear air, just like this afternoon where we are getting some nice relief. If you don't think that our pollution comes from within the country, you really need to go drive around the country right now to see what is happening. You will find plenty of mountains on fire without getting more than 60 km from CM. When the winds stop, that is when the levels go up due to this burning that is just over the next rise, not in the next country.

[T_Dog]

Have not been able to access aqmthai.com all morning to check the readings today. Of course some here will say it is a conspiracy by the government to hide the truth. Anyone able to access it?

//edit - ok, looks like the site is down - http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/aqmthai.com

Been working fine here.

[chiangmaiexpat]

I don't deny there's a lot of burning that takes place in N & N/W Thailand, the issue though is where does the majority of pollution currently affecting Chiang Mai come from.

The short answers include, external countries such as Myanmar, Laos and North Vietnam (the fire maps confirm) combined with the topography of northern Thailand and the inversion layer.

This nonsense is unfortunately brought up every year, normally by some MER officer looking for a scapegoat. It is useless to point the finger at other countries when the problem is identical here and there. I've observed this "phenomenon" in CM for almost 10 years. Air pollution levels always correlate with the number of local fires, wind speed and rain. It is therefore a local problem, but it is obviously not confined within the borders of Northern Thailand.

Cheers, CM-Expat

[Tywais]

Have not been able to access aqmthai.com all morning to check the readings today. Of course some here will say it is a conspiracy by the government to hide the truth. Anyone able to access it?

//edit - ok, looks like the site is down - http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/aqmthai.com

Been working fine here.

Just now started working. Guess they read Thaivisa.

Last reading shown is at 9:00AM today at PM10 of 250.86

[chiang mai]

I don't deny there's a lot of burning that takes place in N & N/W Thailand, the issue though is where does the majority of pollution currently affecting Chiang Mai come from.

The short answers include, external countries such as Myanmar, Laos and North Vietnam (the fire maps confirm) combined with the topography of northern Thailand and the inversion layer.

This nonsense is unfortunately brought up every year, normally by some MER officer looking for a scapegoat. It is useless to point the finger at other countries when the problem is identical here and there. I've observed this "phenomenon" in CM for almost 10 years. Air pollution levels always correlate with the number of local fires, wind speed and rain. It is therefore a local problem, but it is obviously not confined within the borders of Northern Thailand.

Cheers, CM-Expat

"Air pollution levels always correlate with the number of local fires,wind speed and rain," what exactly does that mean/ Do you have evidence confirming that the smoke I see outside my window is from local fires Chiang Mai?

From what I see and from I've seen these past ten years of looking at the pollution and of looking at the fire maps, the balance of probability is that the much of the smoke is externally sourced, the sheer density and volume of fires in the region make that an undeniable fact.

[harrry]

Good heavens we're blessed this year.. Normally I wouldn't even be outside when not absolutely necessary (or be in the North for that matter) when into the second week of March..

Now look at it.. (Ang Kaew)

Ang Kaew in March.JPG

Now, this was the clearest part of the day in the early afternoon, but it's still remarkable especially noting that the weather looks fairly normal otherwise.

Long may it last.

You really should not have written that Winnie. It will remain to haunt you like Bill Gates with his "640 k ought to be enough for anyone" statement.

[CNXBKKMAN]

If there were no fires in CM there may still be a smoke pollution problem because the nearby countries would still be burning their land.

In Singapore they burn nothing but still get covered in thick smoke worse than CM. it comes from hundreds of miles away in Indonesia.

It will end when people stop being farmers and live an urban lifestyle and farming is taken over by big business and machinery. I doubt it will ever end in any of our lifetimes.

Burma has only just come out of hibernation. They have huge areas of forest to cut down and burn. Same with Lao Cambodia. The smoke can only get worse! No doubt there will some record breaking floods when the trees are gone. The future looks hazy.

[mrmillersr]

Just looked at the PM 10 readings for Yupparaj Witayalai School for the period 9am March 21st to 8am March 22nd. Over the 24 hour period there were hourly reading over 300 5 times, over 200 19 times with all readings over 100 during the 24 hours.

People should be going to jail (those lighting the fires along with those that aren't stopping them) but no one in this country gives a s**t about the law. When someone uses LOS to describe Thailand it really should stand for Land of Stupidity which fits it to a tee.

[jaideeguy]

Just out of curiosity Tywais, how big does a fire have to be to get a red dot on your daily fire map?? Surely it doesn't pick up the many small fires that we see daily and nightly?? If that were true, then the whole of SE Asia would be red.

It's sad to think that the smoke has been with us for centuries and will most probably be with us for more centuries.

[naboo]

Some people think its the traffic and some people think its coming from Myanmar. I think some people need to get out of the city and see the fires for themselves.

[chiang mai]

Some people think its the traffic and some people think its coming from Myanmar. I think some people need to get out of the city and see the fires for themselves.

I can't make you read the posts and I certainly can't help with your comprehension of them, but, one more time:

"From what I see and from I've seen these past ten years of looking at the pollution and of looking at the fire maps, the balance of probability is that the much of the smoke is externally sourced, the sheer density and volume of fires in the region make that an undeniable fact".

[ianf]

Some people think its the traffic and some people think its coming from Myanmar. I think some people need to get out of the city and see the fires for themselves.

I can't make you read the posts and I certainly can't help with your comprehension of them, but, one more time:

"From what I see and from I've seen these past ten years of looking at the pollution and of looking at the fire maps, the balance of probability is that the much of the smoke is externally sourced, the sheer density and volume of fires in the region make that an undeniable fact".

I cycle the roads around Chiang Mai every day. When people tell me that this sh.. comes from Myanmar, they are avoiding the obvious truth and just playing the blame game. I have seen more burning, burnt forests and roadside verges this year than ever before. When they burn the verges they are also burning plastic and all manner of rubbish. So toxins from this rubbish go straight into the air without being scrubbed. Last week the Samoeng road was just horrendous. The forests around Li and well before Li have been burnt, and everywhere you look now you see the devastating effects of this wonton destruction. When the Karen were asked to stop their burning, they allegedly went to the human rights commission (or some such outfit) and said that they had burnt for centuries and the order to stop was against their human rights. When I'm told that this is to produce better mushrooms next season - I laugh. It's a load of twaddle. Indeed the verges are being burnt by Tambon workers - in other words by local Government employees who are ignoring the anti-burning posters that same local Government place in the areas that are being burnt. I am sorry for all the peple badly affected by this (I think that is all of us) but this is par for the course in Thailand. Do what you like and ignore everyone else. This is a selfish country with no democracy and no rule of law.

[Tywais]

Just out of curiosity Tywais, how big does a fire have to be to get a red dot on your daily fire map?? Surely it doesn't pick up the many small fires that we see daily and nightly?? If that were true, then the whole of SE Asia would be red.

It's sad to think that the smoke has been with us for centuries and will most probably be with us for more centuries.

Have tried before to find resolution information but with no luck. However if you use the Google Earth kml file it will bring up much higher detail of each spot. The link I added here is for 48h, main site Earthdata. Example snapshot I just did zoomed in to the surrounding area. Guess one can conclude that is just wrong.

A link to a fire imagery image. Didn't post it here due to the image size - http://lance-modis.eosdis.nasa.gov/imagery/firemaps/firemap.2014061-2014070.2048x1024.jpg

[chiang mai]

There appears to be a large fire near Hull, that can't be right!

[Tywais]

There appears to be a large fire near Hull, that can't be right!

North Linkolnshire to be more precise plus one other near Hartlepool. So two detectable fires in UK, more than in Phuket.

[jaideeguy]

Wow, that Google Earth view of SE Asia makes it look like we're right in the middle of HELL!!

No wonder it's smokey. Thanks Tywais for that [frightening] link..............Google Earth kml file

Still no info on how big a fire has to be to show.

[chooka]

Nice at the moment, we have had 3 hours of winds and the brown sky has cleared in Sansai. Now have grey skies but actually got to see the sun. I can hear thunder on the horizon and the winds picking up more. You can actually go outside and breath. The angels are coming down to us.

[chiang mai]

Nice at the moment, we have had 3 hours of winds and the brown sky has cleared in Sansai. Now have grey skies but actually got to see the sun. I can hear thunder on the horizon and the winds picking up more. You can actually go outside and breath. The angels are coming down to us.

"The angels are coming down to us". or vica versa.

[SCARLETIBIS1]

Just looked at the PM 10 readings for Yupparaj Witayalai School for the period 9am March 21st to 8am March 22nd. Over the 24 hour period there were hourly reading over 300 5 times, over 200 19 times with all readings over 100 during the 24 hours.

People should be going to jail (those lighting the fires along with those that aren't stopping them) but no one in this country gives a s**t about the law. When someone uses LOS to describe Thailand it really should stand for Land of Stupidity which fits it to a tee.

Been saying it for years: If they ever do a license plate thing Nationally that would be my first suggestion. Land of Stupidity fits quite well. How about Land of Smoke? I'd give you all the others but the Eye in the Sky would delete the post. Someone should do a blog on all the LOS possibilities. Maybe they should just reverse it to SOL Thailand. LOL

Edited March 22, 2014 by SCARLETIBIS1

[Tywais]

Posted this in the rain topic but useful here to see how many forest fires have been reported.

Chiang Mai haze worst level for year; Lampang sees 40 degrees Celsius

CHIANG MAI, 20 March 2014 (NNT) – The haze situation in Chiang Mai has deteriorated to the worst level this year on Wednesday, while the temperature in Lampang has reached 40 degrees Celsius.

The airborne particulate matter reading in Chiang Mai has remained above the acceptable level for more than a week, and Wednesday's reading rose to 182 micrograms per cubic meter – the highest level recorded so far this year. People in the province are reported to be suffering from agitated eyes and nose.

Chiang Mai provincial governor Wichien Phutthiwinyu has asked the Air Force to dispatch aircraft to release water into the air. The governor has also asked the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation to plan cloud seeding operations to alleviate the haze situation.

So far this year, 669 forest fires have burned through 6,212 rai of land in Chiang Mai; most of the burnt areas were within national forest preserves.

On the same day, Lampang province experienced a high temperature of 40 degrees Celsius in Thoen district.

The weather bureau has the heat will be more intense this year than previously, and the public should brace themselves for rain storms, gusts, and hail storms during March 20-24.

-- NNT March 20, 2014

[chooka]

Posted this in the rain topic but useful here to see how many forest fires have been reported.

Chiang Mai haze worst level for year; Lampang sees 40 degrees Celsius

CHIANG MAI, 20 March 2014 (NNT) – The haze situation in Chiang Mai has deteriorated to the worst level this year on Wednesday, while the temperature in Lampang has reached 40 degrees Celsius.

The airborne particulate matter reading in Chiang Mai has remained above the acceptable level for more than a week, and Wednesday's reading rose to 182 micrograms per cubic meter – the highest level recorded so far this year. People in the province are reported to be suffering from agitated eyes and nose.

Chiang Mai provincial governor Wichien Phutthiwinyu has asked the Air Force to dispatch aircraft to release water into the air. The governor has also asked the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation to plan cloud seeding operations to alleviate the haze situation.

So far this year, 669 forest fires have burned through 6,212 rai of land in Chiang Mai; most of the burnt areas were within national forest preserves.

On the same day, Lampang province experienced a high temperature of 40 degrees Celsius in Thoen district.

The weather bureau has the heat will be more intense this year than previously, and the public should brace themselves for rain storms, gusts, and hail storms during March 20-24.

-- NNT March 20, 2014

What has happened to their so called clampdowns and the government promises to prosecute those burning off over the the last "FIVE YEARS" Nothing has changed it is only getting worse.

Nothing will change and it is all bullshite, people will burn and sufficate (murder) people every year. It is murder when they light fires every years suffocating the eldely. The Government sit back and say oh well been doing this for years and people have been suffocating so what is the problem? People die everyday, so we suffocate/exterminate a few what is the problem?

[MMan]

It is RAINING on Chang Klan Road

[mizztraveller]

This is the first (and the last!) year that we've been in Chiang Mai during March.

Now that we're having some rain, will the smog disappear for the season or will it be back in a day or so?

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[chiang mai]

It'll be back as soon as the rain stops and the ground dries out sufficiently that farmers can burn some more, unless the rain gets serious and encroaches into planting/growing season..