Smoke, Smog, Dust 2016-2017 Chiang Mai

[JimmyJ]

So at best 4 points below "Moderate", sometimes in "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups", at worst 5 points into "Unhealthy".

Averaging the best and worst reading (which may not be meaningful) gives 101.

I had read it just before I made the post you quoted and as mentioned at that time it was 94.

 

And it's December.

 

The 2.5 particulates are acknowledged to be the most dangerous. They are the smallest.

 

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by JimmyJ

[mat999]

Maybe 2% of people wear surgical masks here. Why? They do almost nothing for pollution or is there something about particle size that makes them effective? They are for stopping you infecting others but not that many people are ill. Polarizing glasses seem more use to me as they see through haze.  

Although I have to admit on a terrible March day the other year the cheap surgical masks did help a bit.

[canopy]

Note while the white surgical masks may offer some help with larger particles, the dangerous PM 2.5 goes right through thus they are not an effective defense from the pollution.

 

[mrmillersr]

I don't know if anyone has been following the PM  2.5 readings in Chiang Mai but they are already hitting high numbers.  In fact, there were already averaging high daily PM 2.5 levels back in November and December.

 

The big question is does this mean the burning has started earlier than usual and it possibly won't be as bad going forward or are we now going to be getting higher levels of dangerous PM 2.5 particles sooner than in the past with more months of this pollution to contend with?  If that's the case, it really doesn't make sense to live here if you don't have to.

[EnlightenedAtheist]

8 minutes ago, mrmillersr said:

I don't know if anyone has been following the PM  2.5 readings in Chiang Mai but they are already hitting high numbers.  In fact, there were already averaging high daily PM 2.5 levels back in November and December.

 

The big question is does this mean the burning has started earlier than usual and it possibly won't be as bad going forward or are we now going to be getting higher levels of dangerous PM 2.5 particles sooner than in the past with more months of this pollution to contend with?  If that's the case, it really doesn't make sense to live here if you don't have to.

Let's see if there is a pattern. Is this weekend related for instance, with more car on the road (as govn't employees are not working and children/parents are free to drive around,...). I notice that this is CM related. Even Danang was hit with a relative high reading. Is China and India air travelling this way, exacerbating the situation? We need someone to see if there is a pattern. Note that this is not all day.

Edited January 7, 2018 by EnlightenedAtheist

[canopy]

On 1/7/2018 at 1:30 PM, mrmillersr said:

In fact, there were already averaging high daily PM 2.5 levels back in November and December....The big question is does this mean the burning has started earlier than usual and it possibly won't be as bad going forward

 

You must be new. Short answer: in the north, no rain = bad air. Since last year the rains ended in October that's why you notice bad air in November and it will be that way until roughly May. The worst is usually March/April as it is the driest and massive burning will go on then in addition to the accumulation. The air quality won't just be in the unhealthy yellow or orange, it will red line or worse. Same story every year. The only thing that changes is the scapegoat and it's clear nothing will change or get better.

 

 

[mrmillersr]

16 hours ago, canopy said:

 

You must be new. Short answer: in the north, no rain = bad air. Since last year the rains ended in October that's why you notice bad air in November and it will be that way until roughly May. The worst is usually March/April as it is the driest and massive burning will go on then in addition to the accumulation. The air quality won't just be in the unhealthy yellow or orange, it will red line or worse. Same story every year. The only thing that changes is the scapegoat and it's clear nothing will change or get better.

 

 

Not new been here longer than I want to admit. 

 

All I know having been tracking PM 2.5 levels for over a year, the levels we have been averaging are higher than they have been in the past couple of years for the same time period. 

 

When you see 24 hour periods of PM 2.5 averaging near 50 and as early as the beginning of January that is not a good sign.  If this is any indication of what's coming, this is going to be one long bad year for pollution and you may wish you lived somewhere else.

[Ruffian Dick]

On 12/30/2017 at 8:22 AM, mat999 said:

Maybe 2% of people wear surgical masks here. Why?

Because the good masks (3M N95) cost as much as the average daily wage.

[LolaS]

Hello, my soi or mooban, gated community, made new wonderful garden, 

everything looks ok, but the electric company came today to cut branches of trees that are around or close to a power line, they cannot cut the whole tree bcs it is secret for Buddhism, or whatever, 

however, I see now brunches on new garden collected together in a pile that looks like someone will burn, how to report this and where? should I scream on them to not burn in moban? what would you do? hire company to move branches ?

[Ruffian Dick]

On 12/30/2017 at 8:22 AM, mat999 said:

Maybe 2% of people wear surgical masks here. Why?

Maybe they aren't "surgical" masks. There are plenty of disposable "N95" masks that look like surgical masks.

[Ruffian Dick]

On 1/10/2018 at 4:59 AM, LolaS said:

Hello, my soi or mooban, gated community, made new wonderful garden, 

everything looks ok, but the electric company came today to cut branches of trees that are around or close to a power line, they cannot cut the whole tree bcs it is secret for Buddhism, or whatever, 

however, I see now brunches on new garden collected together in a pile that looks like someone will burn, how to report this and where? should I scream on them to not burn in moban? what would you do? hire company to move branches ?

Lola, I think you posted in the wrong place.

[JimmyJ]

On 1/19/2018 at 1:47 PM, Ruffian Dick said:

Lola, I think you posted in the wrong place.

It relates to smoke in Chang Mai. Seems valid to me.

 

Also it's good to see Lola showing concern about smoke.

Edited January 20, 2018 by JimmyJ

[Ruffian Dick]

On 1/20/2018 at 2:57 PM, JimmyJ said:

It relates to smoke in Chang Mai. Seems valid to me.

 

Also it's good to see Lola showing concern about smoke.

Perhaps you could answer her question then.

[Thailand]

Just returned from Pai where plumes of smoke were rising in the surrounding hills and plenty of roadside verge and fields burning had taken place or was burning on the way down.

I guess the annual committee meeting has not turned in to much action. 

[JaseTheBass]

Not sure what the geniuses were burning today, but walking home from work near KSK there was definitely something very nasty being burned. Its seeped into the house now.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[elephant45]

You see all that black stuff coming out of those truck exhausts? Look on the side of the road fires everywhere. All Government agencies burning all their trash. When I sold my condo all the agents said prices were way down. We know why. You think that valley is going to get better to live in? IMPOSSIBLE! And now the real burning season starts. Pretty soon people will be walking around with scuba tanks on their backs and thinks its normal. 1984

[EnlightenedAtheist]

I see 3 peaks at 150+ today!

 

I am not too sure if this has been broached before, but it seems to me that the concern that I have is not so much related to the smoke from organic matter, but the organic debris full of pesticides going up in the air and into my lungs and blood stream.

 

I wonder if the CP company owners are here breathing the stuff. I doubt it. They probably have the finest filters around, if they are not somewhere where cleaner air is. In the meantime, let's keep the "mai pen rai" culture going!

 

Have you read the latest govn't farmer scheme (as an election is coming)? I see no info on how farmers should manage pesticides and organic waste full of them, but it is sketchy. It is the pesticide on/in the waste that is burning that worries me the most, but I am sure they burn everything including plastic. Right? The farmers and the rest of the population are being exploited, but what else is new. Still, I meet with some Thai friends and some of them are concerned too. They are educated though and find that people with no education are skeptical. Smoke killing us and our children? It sounds too surreal for them. Has anyone ever seen any govn't-run anti-pollution info on TV or health info related to this issue?

[CNXBKKMAN]

I don't see the smoke situation ever improving. All the surrounding countries have bad air quality. There is no will to change anything just like with road safety.  Its something you have to accept if you live in this part of the world. 

     Just to add to the doom and gloom i will make an unscientific forecast that the burning season this year will be a bad one, worse than recent years. I am basing this on the fact that last year was much wetter than the previous couple of years. Cycling on trails and paths through the hills and forests i noticed there is much more plant growth. Some trails i stopped riding on as they became totally overgrown. This didn't happen to the same extent during the previous years. These hillsides get burnt every year so my thinking is more plant growth, more stuff to burn, more smoke in the air this year?

[jimgilly]

At best there are 3 or maybe 4 months where the PM 2.5 levels average only slightly above the max of 10 that the WHO recommends.  The actual PM 2.5 levels and number of days the levels are high has been increasing and will not likely get any better in the foreseeable future.  We are already hitting extreme numbers you don't usually see until mid-March so you don't have to wait for it to get bad - it's already here. 

 

They should consider changing the name from Chiang Mai to Death Valley because that's basically what it is.  One more week and I'm out of here for good. 

[elephant45]

I left a month ago. Forget it. Sold out and gave many things away.

[canopy]

7 hours ago, jimgilly said:

At best there are 3 or maybe 4 months where the PM 2.5 levels average only slightly above the max of 10 that the WHO recommends. 

 

It's not clear what scale you are referring to. According to aqicn.com, the PM 2.5 AQI in Chiang Mai today ranged from 62 to 157. That's classified as unhealthy for the entire population. Furthermore, the air in the north does not meet the international clean air standard for half the year or more. In the coming months we can anticipate the air will continue to be quite unhealthy and the worst is yet to come.

 

[tyznd]

4 hours ago, canopy said:

 

It's not clear what scale you are referring to. According to aqicn.com, the PM 2.5 AQI in Chiang Mai today ranged from 62 to 157. That's classified as unhealthy for the entire population. Furthermore, the air in the north does not meet the international clean air standard for half the year or more. In the coming months we can anticipate the air will continue to be quite unhealthy and the worst is yet to come.

 

When the pollution levels are this bad you can use any scales you want as it won't make a difference to the fact the air is highly toxic and unsafe.

 

If you like breathing reasonably healthy air for 4 months or so, Chiang Mai would be okay.  More  than that and , you're taking a big gamble and the problem is your gambling with your life.

[sharktooth]

It is murder this morning. Having a brew in my condo and all this very fine dust / ash started drifting in. Thought I was seeing things.

[XGM]

17 hours ago, elephant45 said:

I left a month ago. Forget it. Sold out and gave many things away.

I hope you didn't move to Khon Kaen. I see 188 there today.

[elephant45]

No, far away. Strange thing is there is similar white dust where I am on the Med, on everything, table tops etc, that looks similar to Thailand. Dear Lord is the whole planet toxic?

[sletraveler]

I have been loosely following this thread for a while.  Other than a nuisance and ugly the dirty air doesn't seem to bother me.  However,  I did some reading on long term effects of the nano particles and have grown more interested if not alarmed.  I live in San Kamphaeng so not sure if it's better or worse than Cm.  I did order a good quality air filter today so at least half of the day the air I breathe will be healthy.

I would  agree with anyone's  assertion that  it will not improve in our lifetime.  In my wife's  village it sure seems like a lot of people get cancer, maybe it's related, who knows.

How is the air down in Koh Phi Phi or Koh Jum this time of year?  I'm guessing good but...

Edited February 5, 2018 by sletraveler

[EnlightenedAtheist]

2 hours ago, sletraveler said:

In my wife's  village it sure seems like a lot of people get cancer, maybe it's related, who knows.

Who knows? Lots of research seems to point to dire effects. If cigarette smoking is related to cancer, any chance that these types of pollutants (the pesticides being burn into our lungs) will not affect humans in a similar manner, considering the data?

 

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/12/07/unicef-17-million-babies-live-areas-outdoor-air-pollution-6-times-recommended-limits-brain-development-affected/

 

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/11/01/biomass-burning-releases-pollutants-cause-dna-damage/

 

 

Edited February 5, 2018 by EnlightenedAtheist

[jonwilly]

Yesterday Monday I had my morning swim and after spoke to owner of the Centre of the Universe pool.

He says I had a cough this morning, Me Too says I.

Same again this morning.

Think we are kicking off early this year as it's normally early March when I start coughing.

 

john

[canopy]

It is a good idea to factor air quality into your exercise plan. Choose the time of day with less pollution. Reduce intensity. Exercise indoors. Your condition could be progressive due to the accumulation and wear on the immune system. As someone else said, there are pesticides and dangerous chemicals in this smoke being inhaled in addition to the already unhealthy levels of PM 2.5.

 

[EnlightenedAtheist]

2 hours ago, canopy said:

It is a good idea to factor air quality into your exercise plan. Choose the time of day with less pollution. Reduce intensity. Exercise indoors. Your condition could be progressive due to the accumulation and wear on the immune system. As someone else said, there are pesticides and dangerous chemicals in this smoke being inhaled in addition to the already unhealthy levels of PM 2.5.

 

Yes, that someone who mentioned that pesticide smoke is an issue and that something no one mentions is me. LOL

 

Speaking of which, today between 2 and 6 pm isn't too bad for exercising.

 

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/chiangmai/city-hall/

Edited February 6, 2018 by EnlightenedAtheist