Thailand's northern provinces battle haze

Yahoo News 25 Mar 08;

Thailand's northern provinces are battling a haze which has blanketed parts of the region after the annual burning of wood and agricultural waste, health authorities said Wednesday.

Provinces including Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, popular with tourists and trekkers, are suffering from poor air quality because of the smog, which descended earlier this month.

Air quality in Thailand is measured in micrograms of particles of matter per cubic metre, with 120 considered unhealthy, and 300 considered dangerous.

Chiang Rai town recorded levels of up to 137.9 on Monday, while Chiang Mai city saw levels soar to 171.3 on the same day, the pollution control department said. Mae Hong Son and Lamphun provinces are also affected.

Air quality was returning to normal levels on Wednesday, but Health Minister Chiya Sasomsub said his ministry will give 200,000 face masks to villagers affected by the haze and ask local hospitals to be on alert.

"Health officials will also educate and campaign to try and tell villagers that they should not burn forests, rubbish or grasses, as this will help reduce the amount of dust in the air," he said in a statement.

The Thai government declared a state of emergency in much of its northern region in March last year after forest fires and slash-and-burn farming sent a cloud of smoke and dust across eight provinces.

Seasonal fires bring haze to Thai north
Chiang Mai among areas suffering poor visibility and high levels of pollution
Nirmal Ghosh, Straits Times 27 Mar 08;

BANGKOK - SEASONAL forest fires and the burning of chaff and corn stubble continued to shroud Chiang Mai and several other parts of northern Thailand in smoke and dust yesterday.

A day earlier, Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej had voiced concern over the pollution problem.

There was some improvement in conditions yesterday compared to several days back, Chiang Mai residents said, but the pollution level was still bad.

One resident told The Straits Times over the phone that a recently installed air purifier could work for only 20 minutes at a time before the filter became clogged.

The Thai authorities use a standard called PM10 - indicating levels of dust particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter, likely to be inhaled by humans - to measure smoke and dust pollution.

A few days ago, the PM10 pollution level was at a dangerous 200, but as of yesterday afternoon, it had dropped to between 74 and 95 in and around Chiang Mai.

Anything above 120 is considered hazardous to health.

Amid the mounting summer heat, Mae Hong Son province, which usually bears the brunt of forest fires in the rugged hills of the Thai-Myanmar border, has been the worst hit.

Wildfires could be seen in the hills at night, residents said.

On Tuesday, an incoming Thai Airways flight had to be diverted because of poor visibility.

Yesterday's morning flight from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son was also cancelled.

By 3pm yesterday, however, visibility had improved from 1.2km to 5km, and normal air services had been restored.

An official of Mae Hong Son municipality told The Straits Times that conditions in the morning were usually bad but would improve by the afternoon - and yesterday was better than previous days.

The Ministry of Public Health in Bangkok on Tuesday scrambled to send 200,000 face masks to northern towns after King Bhumibol asked for daily reports on the situation.

Pollution Control Department chief Supat Wangwongwatana said that the problem was related to forest fires in 'hot spots' in Thailand, as well as neighbouring Myanmar and Laos.

On Tuesday, he was reported as saying: 'The number of hot spots in Indochina was getting high on March 22 with 952, and gradually dropped to 575 and only 271 on March 24.'

Local officials and residents are hoping for rain to dampen fires and clear the air.

They include those involved in Chiang Mai's thriving tourism sector, which according to some reports has seen a dip in bookings following reports of the pollution.