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THAILAND LIFE AND CULTURE
Thailand Clears the Air?
Bangkok has a seasonal air pollution problem.
The worst levels of PM2.5 pollution occur between November — March. This time frame coincides with a couple of factors. First, the cool season brings less wind and rain, and second, one of the country’s biggest crops (sugarcane) is harvested.
The result is a spike in PM 2.5 numbers in the capital, often to the point of obscuring distant buildings and putting the capital in the world’s top ten of polluted cities.
Once the rains and winds return the haze vanishes, but other sources are still pumping harmful toxins into the air. The largest source is vehicle traffic, followed by construction projects, and then industrial emissions. It’s when the emissions from crop burning is added to the soup that breathing becomes difficult.
Northern Thailand has a similar seasonal struggle, though less from sugarcane and more from corn and rice field burning, often originating in neighbouring Myanmar.
While the PM2.5 problem has existed for many years, the need to do something has recently generated interest. Notably, the Clean Air Network, a consortium of foundations, chambers of commerce, and Ministry of Public Health groups, has researched and published several papers on the topic.