Chiang Mai: – Provincial governor Suriya Prasatbandit has called for relevant agencies and the private sector to spray water in the town areas as a way to fight haze.

Suriya is scheduled today to turn on the water spray at Tha Phae Gate.

The dry-season haze has escalated in recent days. This is attributed to the slash-and-burn farming in the mountains of Chiang Dao district. The downwind carries the haze to blanket Chiang Mai town areas.

The provincial authorities has designated February 15 to April 15 as the critical period for monitoring the haze situation.

Chiang Mai residents and visitors have been advised to put on face masks.

The dry season sees intensified air pollution caused by forest fire, slash-and-burn farming, and the wide-spread burning of garbage, weeds and paddy stumps as farmers prepared the fields for the new planting season.

This week’s haze has been blamed on the fire burning in Chiang Dao. The authorities suspect the fire to have caused by forest encroachers and highland farmers preparing the fields.

Forest encroachers are known to have set forest fire in order to divert the attention of forest rangers to put out the blaze while they would smuggle the illegal log out of the forest.

Over the weekend, forest fire happened in several mountainous areas, Chiang Dao district chief Bunlue Thamtharanurak said.

Bunlue formed and dispatched a number of fire-fighting teams to deal with forest fire within the Chiang Dao Forest Reserve.

In one incident, the blaze lasted for hours destroying the area of 40 rai in Tambon Ping Khong.

Same every year. Its called Thainess. Which they call a virtue?

This sounds almost as comical as the "Amazing Black Hole Technique" which was used in a failed attempt at rainmaking a few years back.

Do the amulet vendors not have a trinket to ward off haze?

I suppose we could all stand in high places, unzip and sprinkle, as a contribution from TV?

I like the boat theory to save Bangkok from the big flood a few years ago. Perhaps they could adopt the same principles in Chiang Mai with fans??

It didn't work Last Year. Perhaps this year - it will... Very good logic.

"This is attributed to the slash-and-burn farming"

"intensified air pollution caused by forest fire, slash-and-burn farming, and the wide-spread burning of garbage, weeds and paddy stumps"

"Forest encroachers are known to have set forest fire in order to divert the attention of forest rangers"

"Chiang Mai residents and visitors have been advised to put on face masks."

Carry on. Nothing to see here folks just put on your face masks.

Hey, how about enforcing regulations to fight the "haze"?

"This is attributed to the slash-and-burn farming"

"intensified air pollution caused by forest fire, slash-and-burn farming, and the wide-spread burning of garbage, weeds and paddy stumps"

"Forest encroachers are known to have set forest fire in order to divert the attention of forest rangers"

"Chiang Mai residents and visitors have been advised to put on face masks."

Carry on. Nothing to see here folks just put on your face masks.

Hey, how about enforcing regulations to fight the "haze"?

I have heard that reason for that is nobody will enforce it, (I guess police are too busy).

I like the boat theory to save Bangkok from the big flood a few years ago. Perhaps they could adopt the same principles in Chiang Mai with fans??

Probably work better than water spray. But wait, why not just ENFORCE THE LAW. You know, arrest and fine (heavily) anyone who starts clearing fires on their property. Hit them hard in the pocket book and it will stop... PRONTO.

Duh .. time to make the donuts ...

How about getting people to stop burning crap?

We are gathered here today, as a grave threat spreads across our land. I ask you, friends, who can we turn to in this hour of need?

Will you bow your heads please?

Let us spray.

They are so smart with this burning thing.

Let us spray, as one poster said. Meanwhile as the drought deepens and sets in for the next few months of hot weather, Songkran looms and they can waste more water at that time.

So giving out 1000 masks failed to cure the problem then? Must say I am surprised!

With all this pollution at the moment Chiang Mai can kiss goodbye to tourism...

The tourists will come for one day and then turn around and head for the beaches.. then again, if most of the tourists are Chinese, they probably think the air quality is okay

https://www.facebook.com/firereportschiangmai?fref=ts

Worth adding.. reports and ways of reporting..

Chiang Mai city life showed how ridiculous the 'report a fire and claim 5000b' process was..

Good point , the Chinese think this is normal. Well hopefully there is enough Chinese tourist to keep the old ball rolling. Not likely.