Buy masks people. Its going to get worse before it gets better.

Pharmacies are running out.

I'm not sure a pharmacy paper mask protects in any way against the very thin particles contained in the haze.

It doesn't and it makes it more uncomfortable breathing in hot air. Here's an interesting page on why Asians wear these masks inappropriately for smog that are designed to keep water droplets IN from surgeons breath and off patients.

http://qz.com/299003/a-quick-history-of-why-asians-wear-surgical-masks-in-public/

quote;

The reality is that the woven-cloth surgical masks provide minimal protection from environmental viruses anyway. (Surgeons use them to protect patients from their mouth-borne germs, not the other way around.) But the masks’ actual prophylactic utility is, in a way, secondary to other reasons they’re being worn, which is why they’re likely to become more common in the future—even among non-Asians.....

Meanwhile, the intake of “feng,” or noxious wind, is considered the most potent and common of TCM’s “Six External Causes” of disease. “Think about wind,” says Ching. “It can blow open doors, blow cool air off a body of water to the land surrounding it, or fire from one part of the forest to another. The door analogy relates to TCM’s understanding of how exposure to wind can weaken our body’s defenses.”(Perhaps as a permutation of these ideas, East Asia has numerous ancillary superstitions about air and wind, the most notable of which is a deathly fear of sleeping in rooms with running electric fans, a belief that has its epicenter in Korea, where “fan death” phobia remains rampant even today.)

Studies have found that among many young Japanese, masks have evolved into social firewalls; perfectly healthy teens now wear them, along with audio headsets, to signal a lack of desire to communicate with those around them. This is particularly true for young women seeking to avoid harassment on public transit, who also appreciate the relative anonymity the masks provide.

Masks are even becoming an element of East Asian style: In Japan, surgical masks bearing chic designs or the images of cute licensed characters can be purchased in every corner drugstore, while last month at China Fashion Week, designer Yin Peng unveiled a line of “smog couture” clothese paired with a variety of masks, from Vader-esque ventilators to whole-head riot-gear rebreathers.....end quote

more at link

This is insane!

Myself and my Hong Kong expat buddies are evacuating back to Hong Kong this week to escape the pollution.... which is the reason we came to Phuket in the first place!

Insanity!

So you are going back to a place you escaped from because the place you are in now is same same, now thats insane lol

" Insane"? Rather an over- the- top insult on what seems to me to be a sensible course of action. Why pay for a holiday room and meals in Phuket when the air quality is as bad as home?

It looks like the readings are on the low side compared to singapore where I live. From the photos it is definately way more than 100, but I don't know if they use the same measurements. Singapore does have its own strict masurements. The Thai readings may be 24-hour average, which doesn't give you a picture of the immediate situation. In Singapore we use 3 and 24 hour readings, with the 3 hour reading being more current. Right now, 1.15pm in Singapore, the 3 hour index is 75. You can see the blue sky and the clouds. No smell. It's almost like a normal day.

It looks like the readings are on the low side compared to singapore where I live. From the photos it is definately way more than 100, but I don't know if they use the same measurements. Singapore does have its own strict masurements. The Thai readings may be 24-hour average, which doesn't give you a picture of the immediate situation. In Singapore we use 3 and 24 hour readings, with the 3 hour reading being more current. Right now, 1.15pm in Singapore, the 3 hour index is 75. You can see the blue sky and the clouds. No smell. It's almost like a normal day.

The current reading for Phuket at 11 AM is 125 according to this site: http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/phuket/municipal-health-center-1/

It looks like the readings are on the low side compared to singapore where I live. From the photos it is definately way more than 100, but I don't know if they use the same measurements. Singapore does have its own strict masurements. The Thai readings may be 24-hour average, which doesn't give you a picture of the immediate situation. In Singapore we use 3 and 24 hour readings, with the 3 hour reading being more current. Right now, 1.15pm in Singapore, the 3 hour index is 75. You can see the blue sky and the clouds. No smell. It's almost like a normal day.

They are updated every hour in Phuket.

It looks like the readings are on the low side compared to singapore where I live. From the photos it is definately way more than 100, but I don't know if they use the same measurements. Singapore does have its own strict masurements. The Thai readings may be 24-hour average, which doesn't give you a picture of the immediate situation. In Singapore we use 3 and 24 hour readings, with the 3 hour reading being more current. Right now, 1.15pm in Singapore, the 3 hour index is 75. You can see the blue sky and the clouds. No smell. It's almost like a normal day.

The current reading for Phuket at 11 AM is 125 according to this site: http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/phuket/municipal-health-center-1/

Getting better fast now. We finally have a breeze from the west.

It was good for about an hour. Now the landmark that finally was visible to me an hour ago is once again not visible.

It was good for about an hour. Now the landmark that finally was visible to me an hour ago is once again not visible.

As I said, disappearing fast.

It's as clear as I've seen it in a few days now. Last night things began clearing up and now visibility is much better. Let's hope it lasts!

It's as clear as I've seen it in a few days now. Last night things began clearing up and now visibility is much better. Let's hope it lasts!

I would say visibility is a little better, and it's getting worse as the morning wears on.

I have noticed that Ao Por is hour or two behind the west coast changes.

The air is still pretty clear here.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ II using Tapatalk

How air quality is measured

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/singapore/why-it-could-look-hazy/2177946.html?cid=fbsg

Sent from my i-mobile IQ II using Tapatalk

Not so bad now. I can see out to the horizon, only a very slight haze.

Looking good

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That burnt plastic smell is finally out of the air. Good day for a bicycle ride.

It's currently raining in Rawai.

It's raining (lightly) here in Patong right now.

Blue skies and the sun is shining at Ao Por

Clear in NST. Visiting the MIL

A bit more rain tonight. We need it! My banana trees look the worst they have in years!

A bit more rain tonight. We need it! My banana trees look the worst they have in years!

Coming from the east!

One huge storm at Ao Por at the moment

It's seems to be back again. Visibility is way down looking over the sea.

It's seems to be back again. Visibility is way down looking over the sea.

Yes, it's back big time, along with that burning smell ... not nice at all ..

I don't understand why the current AQI is only 31 with all this smoke in the air.

I don't understand why the current AQI is only 31 with all this smoke in the air.

Smoke, where are you?

I don't understand why the current AQI is only 31 with all this smoke in the air.

Smoke, where are you?

Rawai. It's been like this all day.

Haze is back here in Kata. Visibility is way down and that acrid smokey stench is back. Noticed a faint smell around 3 pm and now 5:45pm can't see the ocean from the kata hillside.

I don't understand why the current AQI is only 31 with all this smoke in the air.

Smoke, where are you?

Rawai. It's been like this all day.

Just noticed it came up again these last hours.

Smoke, where are you?

Rawai. It's been like this all day.

Just noticed it came up again these last hours.

Yes, could see it starting just after 14.00. I initially thought is was just rain squalls as the whole sky darkened and there was some light rain. By 16.00 it was obviously the smog back again ... and very badly.