Air pollution levels right now in Bangkok...

[dblaisde]

Maybe it's just me, but it seems extreme. When I came in from the airport a few days ago, the whole city was painted in a white haze. As far as I can tell, it hasn't gotten any better. I have a sore throat and dry cough all the time and I think it's the pollution. (PS. I'm a Bangkok regular--for many years I've spent a few months here during tourist season and I've never seen it this bad.)

Anybody else feeling this? (I have allergies and asthma so it ain't easy)

PS: I checked here: http://aqmthai.com/ for realtime pollution levels. Anybody know a better site?

Edited January 4, 2014 by dblaisde

[ocean268]

Air4Thai apple app

from my iPad in CHA-AM

[ukrules]

Down here in Hua Hin it's very clear. I went to Bangkok a few weeks ago and noticed the same thing, it's smog.

[dblaisde]

Thanks. Air4Thai says that the air is OK, pristine even in my area (Banglampoo, Bangkok). Well, I guess they don't live here.

Edited January 4, 2014 by dblaisde

[HidyHo]

It was really hazy yesterday around 11am when I went out. From Nana BTS station, I looked down to Asoke station and could barely see the train. My friend and I did a lot of walking yesterday around Bangkok (including Banglampoo area) and now I have extremely sore throat.

[ocean268]

Maybe you should move to CHA-AM......The winds keep it clear, cool, and comfortable.....and, the beach is clean with clear warm salt water. Best of luck!

from my iPad in CHA-AM

[ocean268]

from my iPad in CHA-AM

[Notable]

BKK is a polluted hell hole, check the stats and I don't mean the government ones.

[JackJD]

The past 10 days or so the skies in Pattaya-Jomtien look like Bangkok. The weather is dry and there shouuld be clear blue sky... but on the weather websites they say it is "fog". I lived in San Francisco for years, and it is VERY foggy there... and this is NOTHIN like that. This looks just like POLLUTED AIR to me. I hope I am incorect... because I am breathing it NOW!

Anyone have any REAL scientific explanations?

[peterbkk9]

Yes I noticed the same thing. Pollution is a bit worse than usual these days.

I live in Bangkok. People in my area are lighting up fires, probably because of low temperatures. Early in the morning you can clearly smell it.

I think this is contributing to it.

Also The Bangkok Post has a daily pollution index on page 5 or 6. PM10 measurements stand at around 100 micrograms / cubic meter on average these days.

It was more in the 50-70 range a few weeks ago.

But the worst thing is that locals dont really care.

Edited January 5, 2014 by peterbkk9

[Puccini]

Thanks. Air4Thai says that the air is OK, pristine even in my area (Banglampoo, Bangkok). Well, I guess they don't live here.

That was at 6am or earlier. What reading do you get now?

On my Android device, Air4Thai does not list Banglampoo. For Khet Thon Buri at 3pm, it shows me an AQI of 111 (unhealthy), very high PM₁₀ of 144

Edited January 5, 2014 by Puccini

[Frank James]

Today, Jan. 5, it seems like a smoggy pall has settled over Chiang Mai (the Rose of the North!) all day. Where is this muck coming from?

[Puccini]

I read about fog in Chiang Mai today causing problems for air traffic.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/694204-northern-fog-forces-flights-to-delay/

Edited January 5, 2014 by Puccini

[attrayant]

I'm not sure if the air pollution is any worse than usual, but it's winter and the air is very dry right now. This means dry, scratchy throats and upper respiratory problems for people even when there's no pollution. A dry upper respiratory tract is an invitation for airborne irritants that might otherwise be caught in the thick layer of mucous that normally lines our breathing passages.

A small humidifier in the bedroom has done wonders for my quality of sleep these past few dry weeks.

[Shaunduhpostman]

No rain, so the air quality is bound to be noticeably worse. I agree, it seems really bad this year. Its been very windy in Isaan recently as well, so that kicks up a lot of dust and sends the smoke south I would imagine. In my holiday season travels, all the way from Bangkok and through Isaan as well, smoke from burning fields, dust from the dry rice paddies, probably loads of crap from China, smoke from factories, fertilizer from agriculture, etc. I thought Pattaya was the worst when we were there during Christmas. Bangkok was a breath of fresh air by comparison. A lot of dust is also produced by cement factories and various quarries for building materials in and around Bangkok, or so I have read. There were enormous clouds of yellow/brown/grey smoke billowing up from mountain areas around Korat a few days ago that we saw, it looked like some chemical fires or chemical waste being burned. Also, I'd take any pollution index reporting with a grain of salt in Thailand, I don't think I have ever seen an air quality report in 14 years that didn't say the air was fine and healthy.

[RtotheC]

I've had a sore throat and been couching up stuff since New Years at RCA, my friend and my girlfriend as well. I assumed it was because of the changes in the weather but this would also be a valid reason.

[bitcoinbob]

air quality in thailand is terrible. thailand ranks in the top ten for lung disease which includes lung cancer, and it is not all due to smoking .

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/thailand-lung-disease we could be getting all the Chinese smog fallout, it is terrible up there this time of year, all those new cars due to the government programs of first car buyers rebating does not help.

[Halion]

Air quality in Bangkok is poor during any low wind and dry spell. A PM of 100 is borderline unhealthy and 120 and above are serious concerns.

However in context to Bangkok this type of pollution is normal as this is a very dirty city and pollution of all types and classes are rife.

I think that if an internationally recognized environmental company were commissioned to do an annual air quality study people would be appalled by the deterioration caused by transportation and industry.Thailand , polluted in so many ways.

[tingtongteesood]

Been very sneezey lately, I wonder if the cold weather is involved but I do not have a 'cold'...

[Chai67]

Sugar cane harvesting is going on at the moment. The crop is burned to remove the razor sharp leaves. It's a 24/7 operation with the mills using the spent fibrous cane material for heating the boilers. There are traffic jams in the agricultural areas with semis stacked 12-15' high. Since there's already smoke everywhere, the remaining stalks of harvested rice is also being cleared out with fire. From an airplane at night, most of Thailand looks like Devil's Night in Detroit.

[KevinB]

The problem in Bangkok this time of year is caused by a temperature inversion - the cold air at night(remember folks 23rd December was mid-winter here) places an impenetrable air layer "blanket" over the place and all the night watchmen and security guards (and poor folk) like a little fire now and again (just wish they would stop burning plastic to get it going).

We spent New Year up in Kanchanaburi and even up in the hills and wooded areas there the air was very hazy - I was told from excessive rice stover burning in Myanmar - SE Asia is famous this time of year for sharing its smoke with the whole region - remember last year and the major problems experience in Singapore and KL from the fires in the forests (or maybe we should say ex-forests) of Indonesia.

Added to Bangkok problems are all the factories churning out any toxin they like (any Industry level enforcement just needs some "tea money" to go away - try the Rayong area currently with the same temperature inversion) AND all the City traffic fumes - just wait until after today when all the folk head back to work in their cars. Cough cough.

But as any reader who has been in the Pearl River basin, Shanghai or Peking on a bad day - stop complaining we have it reasonably good here.

[Chao Lao Beach]

In Chonburi today, it is absolutely disgusting as well.

One of the big reasons we bought in Chao Lao Beach area was the air quality, I bet it is blue skies there today.

Many folks are there as they came to Thailand to retire in Chiang Mai but the air quality got them with asthma etc

Bangkok needs a couple of good thunderstorms right now, the convection to stir up the air and destroy the inversion layer and rain. But tis always causes heaps of road crashes as the roads become slick with rain on 2 months of oil etc. There are some nice areas left in Thailand.

Even when it looks "clear" in Bangkok compared to now, when we do the 3 hour drive to Bangkok, about half way you start tasting the pollution, you really notice it.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Chao Lao Beach

[Choonpon]

Wear a mask while out walking. Drink plenty of fluid. Boiled barley water helps alot. Take care guys!

[ocean268]

Today, we've got some haze. Winds are blowing easterly across the gulf towards the mountains. The 17th floor corner condo ROCKS. Good luck to all.

from my iPad in CHA-AM

[ocean268]

CHA-AM mountains......

from my iPad in CHA-AM

[TheGhostWithin]

I have just come back from 5 weeks in Thailand.

Week 1 I drank a lot and began coughing a lot and bringing up yellowish bile, and eventually a little blood. At first I thought it was the drinking so I stopped drinking completely after the second week. I spent a lot of time riding on my motorbike (I discovered the joy of the Honda MX125) so probably took in a lot more fumes than I am used to - I do not drink nor drive at home.

I have been back home 2 days and have noticed that the first day back I coughed up a significant amount of bile and it now appears to be slowing.

I would agree with the poster earlier who said it is related to the coal fires as I spent a lot of time with friends in Udon who swore by their coal fires to sit around and tell stories at night. I also noticed the heavy haze which was most evident on the sky train to and from So-you-wanna-boom-boom.

I have been coming to Thailand for 8 years now and have never seen pollution haze like I did November 30 through January 5.

Edited January 7, 2014 by TheGhostWithin

[ExpatOilWorker]

Sugar cane harvesting is going on at the moment. The crop is burned to remove the razor sharp leaves. It's a 24/7 operation with the mills using the spent fibrous cane material for heating the boilers. There are traffic jams in the agricultural areas with semis stacked 12-15' high. Since there's already smoke everywhere, the remaining stalks of harvested rice is also being cleared out with fire. From an airplane at night, most of Thailand looks like Devil's Night in Detroit.

I think you are spot on. I remember the sugar cane fires from Brazil and it is exactly the same kind of white haze we have now.

[sundrenched]

Thanks for starting this thread. I've been to Bangkok probably 20 times before finally moving here two months ago. Before I noticed pollution of course, but nothing like this. What we have now is almost as bad as China. This morning I woke up with a sore throat. I hope it's temporary and will get to a tolerable level, else I'm out of here in a year.

[ExpatOilWorker]

It is heartwarming how everybody, rightfully, blame farming for the current pollution and not cars or other forms of the oil industry.

[Maestro]

The latest info I can get is for 7 January. Can anybody get newer information?