New to the burning season? Here's a quick video about it and what you can do...

[Tales From ThailandYoutube]

Hey, new to Thai Visa, heard a lot about the place but only recently been lurking so I've made an account and posted one of my more useful videos. I have daily youtube content about Thailand, I always appreciate feedback. 

The smoke's not too bad today thankfully - nice wind has picked up and seems to have cleared things out. I'm curious to know how the rest of the country is getting on, I check the AQI daily and it looks to be pretty much the same all over.

[mamborobert]

[Tales From ThailandYoutube]

 

2 hours ago, mamborobert said:

I'm wearing my digital nomad to infiltrate their ranks...

[SiSePuede419]

I don't know where you're from, but many cities in the world have dirtier air than Northern Thailand today...

 

This is nothing.  Wait until it's 300 and the 3pm sun looks like sunset, it's so red and hazy.

 

And by wait, I mean get yourself to an island ASAP.  Anything above 150 can't be mitigated by a mask and staying indoors.

 

As I explained to my gf, indoor air comes from outside.  If outdoor air is polluted, indoor air is even MORE polluted.  Doors and walls don't magically filter particles out of the air ?

[dingdongrb]

Always one of my favorites:

 

 

[Jaymk]

This is my first burning season in the North - arrived last year at the end. My thai friend told me it was quite bad, and recommended going South. Problem is, I'm waiting on some medical care, and on a tight budget. How long does the burning last? And is it really THAT bad? I'm from Toronto, so I'm not really used to heavy pollution.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

1 hour ago, Jaymk said:

This is my first burning season in the North - arrived last year at the end. My thai friend told me it was quite bad, and recommended going South. Problem is, I'm waiting on some medical care, and on a tight budget. How long does the burning last? And is it really THAT bad? I'm from Toronto, so I'm not really used to heavy pollution.

 

March is typically worst, and most of it usually ends by mid April.   (Except last year, which had a very long drought)

[mamborobert]

15 minutes ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

March is typically worst, and most of it usually ends by mid April.   (Except last year, which had a very long drought)

 

 

No job with TAT for you with that type of response.

 

I wonder if/what effect the ban will have on a later period.  Accepting that there have been bans in the past and of dubious success.  And current relatively good conditions is apparently being put down to good weather (which it is I suppose).

 

Anybody have any idea how reliable the AQI measures are on

 

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

 

Or do they have the same measuring and numerical flexibility guides as TAT?

Edited February 26, 2017 by mamborobert

[amexpat]

I don't particularly (pun) care whether the pollution levels hit four times the safe level (by the WHO, etc) or 

only triple.  It's baad. 

[AtypicaFarang]

I was informed by a friend that this year the burning of corn stover is now banned, completely.

So, I think if this is true then the skies will be clear this year.

[sirmud63]

42 minutes ago, AtypicaFarang said:

I was informed by a friend that this year the burning of corn stover is now banned, completely.

So, I think if this is true then the skies will be clear this year.

     

[MadMac]

Main thing, buy some of these stupid masks and wear them wherever you go. Even though they are completely useless :)

[amexpat]

N95 masks are only useless to MadMac and other people who do not wear them.  

[cerox]

I also wear the N95 mask.

 

It would be interesting to know how much of the 2.5 particles they really filter. Some websites state they filter 88% of the 2.5 particles, this guy in the video states it can't filter them at all which I dont' believe since the Chinese government recommends to use the mask in China for that too.

 

In terms of local I have never seen anybody wearing a mask like this. Only the surgical masks which are worn for fashion here. But I think this is more because of lazyness, for the same reason helments etc. are not worn.

[MadMac]

I mean that cough masks every other clown has in their face. N95 is too sophisticated for Somchai :)

[Awk]

7 hours ago, mamborobert said:

 

 

No job with TAT for you with that type of response.

 

I wonder if/what effect the ban will have on a later period.  Accepting that there have been bans in the past and of dubious success.  And current relatively good conditions is apparently being put down to good weather (which it is I suppose).

 

Anybody have any idea how reliable the AQI measures are on

 

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

 

Or do they have the same measuring and numerical flexibility guides as TAT?

 

When I looked at them some years ago, they seemed reliable.  I believe they are based on the numbers provided

by the Thai governments excellent website at "http://aqmthai.com/public_report.php?lang=en"

 

If I remember correctly, the aqicn.org site uses the number to provide a running 24 hour average however (i.e., the

average for the last 24 hours, whenever you look at it).  The aqmthai.com site however provides the numbers on a hour by hour basis.  The latter is much more useful in practice if you e.g. want to see how the conditions are at the moment (or rather, the last hour), to e.g. ponder whether today is an ok day to go out running or similar.  The aqmthai.com also provides a graph function, so you can usually make a reasonable guess on whether things will improve the next hour, or become worse.

 

 

[WinnieTheKhwai]

15 hours ago, mamborobert said:

 

 

No job with TAT for you with that type of response.

 

I wonder if/what effect the ban will have on a later period.  Accepting that there have been bans in the past and of dubious success.  And current relatively good conditions is apparently being put down to good weather (which it is I suppose).

 

Anybody have any idea how reliable the AQI measures are on

 

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

 

Or do they have the same measuring and numerical flexibility guides as TAT?

It's anyone's guess if the burning ban's effect is a slightly lesser peak value in March, but a much more protracted hazy season.  Because that's what happened last year although it seems more likely that the long drought was mainly responsible.

 

The AQI measurements on the AQICN site are very reliable, and they use the same government supplied data that the Thai PCD site uses. They just convert to the USA AQI index which I think isn't the most suitable for Asia but on the other hand every country measures these things differently (even within Europe) so I can understand the decision to pick a random country's color coding system so that values from all over the world can be readily compared. That's the strength of the AQICN site.

 

And then finally TAT doesn't measure anything or report on environmental issues. That would be the Pollution Control Department (PCD) and they're doing a very good job, with historical data readily available, and adding PM2.5 measuring capabilities to more and more stations.

[mamborobert]

Thanks for that Awk and WinneTheKwai.

 

Just on the TAT side I perhaps did not make myself clear.   I was questioning whether or not the AQI web site info on air quality had less creativity that the TAT numbers and announcements on Tourism/arrivals/forecasts/daly expenditure/vacancy rates etc etc.  It appears from both your responses that the link to the Thai site (Awk).

 

Only a bit bad today and case the outline of Doi Suthep from balcony as my own unscientific test and at lest the temp staying relatively low is helping.

 

Every day CM still beats the shit ot of living in some other places I have and that is the ultimate benchmark for me.

 

 

[Awk]

21 minutes ago, mamborobert said:

Thanks for that Awk and WinneTheKwai.

 

Just on the TAT side I perhaps did not make myself clear.   I was questioning whether or not the AQI web site info on air quality had less creativity that the TAT numbers and announcements on Tourism/arrivals/forecasts/daly expenditure/vacancy rates etc etc.  It appears from both your responses that the link to the Thai site (Awk).

 

Only a bit bad today and case the outline of Doi Suthep from balcony as my own unscientific test and at lest the temp staying relatively low is helping.

 

Every day CM still beats the shit ot of living in some other places I have and that is the ultimate benchmark for me.

 

 

It is difficult to be certain, but previously several people have discussed the accuracy and honesty of it, and I personally believe the data reported is honest.