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Phuket haze health readings spiral, hospitals issue free masks
Tanyaluk Sakoot


The air quality in Phuket plunged after nightfall on Tuesday (Oct 6). Image: Pollution Control Department

PHUKET: -- The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has maintained its health warning from the Indonesian fire haze that has blanketed Phuket, but has confirmed that so far it has not received any reports of people being admitted to hospital for breathing difficulties.

The news follows the PPHO issuing an advisory on Sunday (Oct 4) urging children, the elderly and any persons with breathing difficulties to stay indoors.

The health warning was reiterated on Monday when air-quality readings reached critical levels and today.
“We receive updates from the Pollution Control Department (PCD), Phuket Office, every day,” PPHO Director Dr Bancha Kakong told The Phuket News today (Oct 6).

“So far the PCD has reported that the levels of sulfur oxide in the haze from the fires has yet to reach dangerous levels here. We have not received any reports of people admitted to hospital for respiratory problems, and the situation is not serious enough to ask schools to close.”

In the meantime, however, government hospitals are handing out free face masks.

“As a precaution, children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions can receive free Nexcare masks,” Dr Bancha said.

“Other people should not need masks, but we still urge all people to stay indoors and especially not to exercise outdoors at this time.

“If the situation changes, we will inform the public as soon as possible,” he said.

However, as of 6pm on Tuesday, after The Phuket News spoke with Dr Bancha, the Division of Air Quality Data, under the PCD’s Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau (aqmthai.com) reported that Phuket air-quality had deteriorated.

After recording a PM10 reading of 140 in the early hours of Tuesday, the air had cleared to safe reading 80 by early afternoon.

By nightfall, however, the haze blanketed the island and sent the PM10 spiralling back up to a categorically “Unhealthy” reading of 107.

The “Unhealthy” range is described as “Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.”

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-haze-health-readings-spiral-hospitals-issue-free-masks-54424.php

-- Phuket News 2015-10-07

[Valentine]

Raining here in Chalong right now might help to wash it away for a while.

[LivinginKata]

Very very bad here in Kata - 06.26

[steelepulse]

Unfortunately the spot of rain didn't help south of you Valentine. I still can't see certain big landmarks close by and it smells outside.

[bearpolar]

Phuket town is in white smoke at street level where i am.. its crazy. Must be at 160+ (says 5am: 130)

Edited October 7, 2015 by bearpolar

[khwaibah]

Come and visit Phuket. The new Chiang Mai of the south.

[BestBitterPhuket]

Imagine in the Indonesian villages where the index has been over 1000 for a long time, and many have no windows and aircon in their simple homes. The corrupt Indonesian government does not hesitate to allow it's children, elderly and sick to be slowly killed in the thick smoke, so why should they care about some neighbors far away. Indonesia should be boycotted on all levels and sanctiona brought against them.

[schlog]

The greedy causing haze in indo only will stop when the vip's are crashing thier helis over jakarta caused by the haze.

Edited October 7, 2015 by schlog

[grumpyoldman]

Definitely the worst I have seen it today, as well as worst I can ever remember in the last 10 years.

[Farang99]

Raining here in Chalong right now might help to wash it away for a while.

Rain only lasted 10 minutes and very gentle. We need a downpour for several hours to make any difference by precipitating the dust. No signof anything like that happening, and the smog today is thicker than yesterday.

[springheeled jack]

I have yet to define this Phuket is suffering from haze conditions drifting down from Indonesia the reading they took Tuesday morning was 140 but Tuesday afternoon it went down to a healthy 80 in the evening it went to an unhealthy 107 wasn't the 140 unhealthy?

[bearpolar]

it's even higher now, received email from my kid's school and the mininstry has told them its 10 times over the safe limit right now.

[LivinginKata]

Raining here in Chalong right now might help to wash it away for a while.

Rain only lasted 10 minutes and very gentle. We need a downpour for several hours to make any difference by precipitating the dust. No signof anything like that happening, and the smog today is thicker than yesterday.

Been rain quite steadily here in Kata for 30 minutes. Before the rain visibility over Kata was as best 500m (at worst 250m). The rain has made visibility much worse.

Quite honestly I really don't think this rain will clear the smoke haze.

[huahinjoe]

Today its record high so far...

Edited October 7, 2015 by huahinjoe

[Old Croc]

After the light rain I now have a little bit of Indonesia floating in my pool in the form of ash!

[Gulfsailor]

It has also reached Samui last night. Still hazy today. Will last for a few more days before winds start blowing it away.

[wazzadg44]

In Patong-worst I've seen in 5 years.I can normally look out my window and see the hills/mountain to the north of me but now it is totally blanketed in smoke.If the airport is the same,they could have problems with landing/take offs.The smell is terrible also.

[Guest]

Some flights has been turned back

http://www.thephuketnews.com/flights-redirected-as-haze-blankets-phuket-airport-54431.php

Sent from my i-mobile IQ II using Tapatalk

[LivinLOS]

Come and visit Phuket. The new Chiang Mai of the south.

[Ooladolla]

No pressure put on the Indonesian government about this problem they have caused in Thailand ??

[FBlue72]

Raining here in Chalong right now might help to wash it away for a while.

Raining here in Chalong right now might help to wash it away for a while.

Rain only lasted 10 minutes and very gentle. We need a downpour for several hours to make any difference by precipitating the dust. No signof anything like that happening, and the smog today is thicker than yesterday.

The particulates that make up " haze" are far too small to be affected by raindrops. The only way weather will help is if a pressure front moves in and pushed the air away.

Those paper surgical mask are about keeping water vapor IN and from spraying patients, they offer little respite from breathing in this haze (or from airborne virus.) In fact, IMO they make it more uncomfortable as you are now breathing in hot air. Typical non response response from the Asians and rooted in ancient customs.

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

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......

The bottom line is that in East Asia, the predilection toward using face-coverings to prevent exposure to bad air is something that predates the germ theory of disease, and extends into the very foundations of East Asian culture. In recent years, however, mask-wearing has become rooted in new and increasingly postmodern rationales.

Edited October 7, 2015 by FBlue72

[LivinLOS]

The particulates that make up " haze" are far too small to be affected by raindrops. The only way weather will help is if a pressure front moves in and pushed the air away.

Strange.. When we have haze in the north.. a big rainstorm always clears it down significantly and its the start of the rains which usually make it end (both because it hampers the burning and rain helps the haze in the air).

[BuaBS]

158 ?? That's a clean day up north in march , april & may ! We hit highs of 350 , 2 years ago.

[FBlue72]

The particulates that make up " haze" are far too small to be affected by raindrops. The only way weather will help is if a pressure front moves in and pushed the air away.

Strange.. When we have haze in the north.. a big rainstorm always clears it down significantly and its the start of the rains which usually make it end (both because it hampers the burning and rain helps the haze in the air).

I would submit the clearing is due less from rain and more to wind from pressure fronts pushing out the pollution. If the fires are local then yes, rain would help put them out.

Incidentally the " haze" looks worse as rain approaches and humidity rises, water vapor clings to the particulates.

Well the mountain about 500 meters from me has just disappeared, my eyes are stinging a bit and my lungs feel it too. For me this is the worse ever I've experienced.

Now that that holiest of holies, tourism money will be affected, maybe Thais will actually insist Indonesia stop this practice- but don't hold your breath!

Edited October 7, 2015 by FBlue72

[Pomthai]

Looks like the Air Quality Index Sensor has been brought indoors here in Phuket.

I don not believe for a second its dropped to 18 from the 150's in a matter of hours.

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/phuket/municipal-health-center-1/

[bearpolar]

Looks like the Air Quality Index Sensor has been brought indoors here in Phuket.

I don not believe for a second its dropped to 18 from the 150's in a matter of hours.

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/phuket/municipal-health-center-1/

obviously someone got tired of entering a number every hour of the day. Decided to get himself an inactive paid post.

[FBlue72]

Looks like the Air Quality Index Sensor has been brought indoors here in Phuket.

I don not believe for a second its dropped to 18 from the 150's in a matter of hours.

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/phuket/municipal-health-center-1/

obviously someone got tired of entering a number every hour of the day. Decided to get himself an inactive paid post.

Fronts move in quickly, a squall can come up in minutes. All it takes is a bit of a pressure front from the north to push the haze out. I feel more of a breeze the last hour in my home ( I do not use A/C )

Rising humidity levels have a lot to do with visibility factors, too. The particulate count could be down, but the visibility still remain poor.

[NCC1701A]

you know all those sci fi films about people living in a waist land in the future?

you don't have to go to the movies any more.

[Guest]

you know all those sci fi films about people living in a waist land in the future?

you don't have to go to the movies any more.

I rember reading a sci-fi book about a world where the air was so polluted that people could not go outside.

Everybody were living in their own isolated bubbles. They communicated via radios etc.

The writer had an insight of the future.

[NCC1701A]

Looks like the Air Quality Index Sensor has been brought indoors here in Phuket.

I don not believe for a second its dropped to 18 from the 150's in a matter of hours.

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/phuket/municipal-health-center-1/

obviously someone got tired of entering a number every hour of the day. Decided to get himself an inactive paid post.

Fronts move in quickly, a squall can come up in minutes. All it takes is a bit of a pressure front from the north to push the haze out. I feel more of a breeze the last hour in my home ( I do not use A/C )

Rising humidity levels have a lot to do with visibility factors, too. The particulate count could be down, but the visibility still remain poor.

the eight Chinese tour buses that were parked next to the Air Quality Index sensor finally turned their diesel engines off.