I'm thinking of taking off to Lampang for a couple of days, and am wondering if anyone there can tell me whether there's heavy smoke in Lampang right now.

I'm not going specifically to get away from the smoke in CM, but at the same time I don't want to spend the time driving down there and paying for a room if it's going to be super hazy.

I know that in 'normal' years the situation in Lampang is usually better, but of course much depends on winds etc.

Thanks.

Actually, no. In all years (normal or not) Lampang rates worse than Chiang Mai.

Same for Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son.

And also right now, Lampang is worse than Chiang Mai.

So I suggest you keep driving. It clears up past Nakhon Sawan or so. South or Eastern Seaboard is good this time of year.

Thanks. Any links where I could find stats for that?

Guess I've been lucky in the past when I've driven to Lampang and found the air better than in Chiang Mai this time of year. It's usually quite a bit warmer there for sure.

I'm already heading the islands on the 19th. I always leave Chiang Mai between mid March and mid April to get away from the smoke. Even Bangkok, that time of year, is a relief.

Never mind, I found a link in the pinned topic on smoke etc. You're right, the PM10 index is about the same as here in Chiang Mai today.

Talked to a friend at work who's wife lives there and he was there over the weekend and he said it was quite bad now, even more so than Chiang Mai. Mae Mo doesn't help matters either.

Lampang is very hazy and very hot!

Head south for the hot season...

So BKK offers better air than CM, at the moment?

A yes, Lampang, home to northern Thailand's largest coal fired generator. When combined with burning season, what's not to like!

A good map showing for showing Air Quality in Thailand

http://aqicn.org/map/thailand/

As an aside, we had guests over from Hangzhou.. They were like.. "Haze..? Yeah I guess.. In Hangzhou it's a lot worse than this 200 days of the year." Anyway they're on their way to Phuket now. That should really be a difference.

If the Chinese can take it I can!

At the moment the pm10 index is 98 for Chiang Mai, 64 for Lampang. Obviously it can vary quite a bit from day to day, even hour to hour, according to http://aqicn.org/. So I'm driving to Lampang this afternoon for a couple of nights as it looks to be about the same and I'm not going there to get away from the smoke, just didn't want to go if it was a lot worse.

Saving the beach for later this month when Chiang Mai and the north hits the danger zone, AQI-wise.