masuk Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 A quick look at Thailand shows that we're getting winds from East and West. So whoever is burning just now, we're getting it. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-02-01/tropical-cyclones-explained/1926870, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Lot's of forest fires on the hills north of SK hotsprings, east of Mae On & southeast of On Tai this afternoon. So, let's not try to blame it on other nations, regions of Thailand. This morning I drove out on 1317. Those same areas were thick with smoke. Higher up on the border with Lampang province, the air was very clear & clean. Views across to the north, west & east were clear. The cr@ppy air is homegrown in CM valley. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapguy Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Thailand basically has two monsoons: a SW rainy monsoon and a NE dry monsoon. Winds, however, locally, are variable during any day (which is normal), and the change from one monsoon season to another is gradual. Air pollution. The problem is fundamentally a problem for SE Asia, but the solution is primarily local. It is silly to blame regional neighbors for the bulk of pollution initiated in Thailand of which we suffer. Edited February 20, 2015 by Mapguy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonwilly Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Visibility is still good. Some muck in the air but I do think we may be on too a reasonable 'Bad Atmosphere' season. john Bag packed and ready to move to coast if it gets worse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 I was back in the eastern side of the valley again this morning. Very smokey, & more fires on the hills. It tends to clear by noon, but living in those villages must be awful at night, early morning. Mind you, it's mostly self inflicted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudhopper Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Hi the prevailing winds affecting smoke in the CM region now are mainly early morning drainage winds - usually flowing N to S along the Ping river downtown and down all the hill slopes surrounding the valley generally. The smoke carried down from the mountains by the cool air then spreads out over the valley and is often trapped under an inversion layer until the day heats up enough for random convective winds to disperse it back into the higher air. It will be worse in narrow/steeply confined valleys like Pai and not so bad in areas where it can spread way out like Doi Saket. It will be worst inside the city where buildings interfere with locally generated pollutant dispersion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Lot's of forest fires on the hills north of SK hotsprings, east of Mae On & southeast of On Tai this afternoon. So, let's not try to blame it on other nations, regions of Thailand. This morning I drove out on 1317. Those same areas were thick with smoke. Higher up on the border with Lampang province, the air was very clear & clean. Views across to the north, west & east were clear. The cr@ppy air is homegrown in CM valley. MESmith, A question if I may, you seem to have a good handle on the air quality in the North of Thailand! Normally this time of year I would be down South, but this year I have a baby due in the last week in April so I'm stuck. Are there any areas within an hour or so of CM that don't get too bad, like the area you refer to above on the Lampang border? The idea behind the question is to maybe try to find a resort to hang out in for a week or two when the air gets really bad, with the pregnant girlfriend the closer the better.... Thanks. You might take a look at Mae Kamphong which is at an altitude of about 1100m, NE of CM. They have homestay accomodation & the village is set amidst coffee plantations growing under forest canopy, so here the forest isn't burned. Not sure what air quality will be like when the whole region is smog bound. 1100m might not be high enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khwaibah Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Thailand is relative free of fires but the surrounding countries are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapguy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Hi the prevailing winds affecting smoke in the CM region now are mainly early morning drainage winds - usually flowing N to S along the Ping river downtown and down all the hill slopes surrounding the valley generally. The smoke carried down from the mountains by the cool air then spreads out over the valley and is often trapped under an inversion layer until the day heats up enough for random convective winds to disperse it back into the higher air. It will be worse in narrow/steeply confined valleys like Pai and not so bad in areas where it can spread way out like Doi Saket. It will be worst inside the city where buildings interfere with locally generated pollutant dispersion. Now that the topic of prevailing winds is up, there is an open question about high altitude winds and the transport of PM<10 pollution, in particular PM<2.5, which is really very hazardous to health, as people certainly already know. Wind direction is not the only consideration. The size of particles is one the factors to consider. How high and how far do they travel before settling out, especially at any dangerous density? Anecdotal accounts of cross border regional forest burning and transational dispersion are not altogether conclusive. Maybe we really only have a serious "valley by valley" problem which needs essentially local "mitigation." The "obvious" impact of local burning in adjacent valleys (or countries) might in the main be purely speculative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Lot's of forest fires on the hills north of SK hotsprings, east of Mae On & southeast of On Tai this afternoon. So, let's not try to blame it on other nations, regions of Thailand. This morning I drove out on 1317. Those same areas were thick with smoke. Higher up on the border with Lampang province, the air was very clear & clean. Views across to the north, west & east were clear. The cr@ppy air is homegrown in CM valley. MESmith, A question if I may, you seem to have a good handle on the air quality in the North of Thailand! Normally this time of year I would be down South, but this year I have a baby due in the last week in April so I'm stuck. Are there any areas within an hour or so of CM that don't get too bad, like the area you refer to above on the Lampang border? The idea behind the question is to maybe try to find a resort to hang out in for a week or two when the air gets really bad, with the pregnant girlfriend the closer the better.... Thanks. You might take a look at Mae Kamphong which is at an altitude of about 1100m, NE of CM. They have homestay accomodation & the village is set amidst coffee plantations growing under forest canopy, so here the forest isn't burned. Not sure what air quality will be like when the whole region is smog bound. 1100m might not be high enough. http://www.tharnthonglodges.com/tharnthong/home.php Perfect. Thanks, would welcome input from others that have any ideas on where to get some fresher air in the coming burning season... Beautiful resort, but probably too low down the valley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonsalviz Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Seems the rainy season has set upon Udon and NBL. Rain now for 6 days straight. Good for the mango trees I suppose but slows the sugar cane harvest which can never be over fast enough. Not from the burning but from the traffic of those horrendously overloaded trucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tecumseh Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I don't think people near me worry about winds, they just burn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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