Bangkok is foggy with fine dust 2
Air quality in Bangkok dropped from January 18 to 23 due to dust clouds in the city’s sky.
The dust covering Bangkok includes not only PM2.5 dust but also PM10 and other greenhouse gases.
The plume is formed from fine dust particles and many other greenhouse gases.
Minister Varawut Silpa-archa asked local authorities to talk to farmers about this issue.
Schools will postpone opening dates if dust conditions in the area continue to worsen.
The Air Pollution Coordination and Resolution Center said on January 21 that PM2.5 levels in the capital fluctuated between 51-89 μg/m³;
In an effort to improve air quality in Thailand, Director of the Pollution Control Department Attapol Charoenchansa said the agency is considering lowering the allowable PM2.5 level from 50μg/m³ to 30μg/m³.
According to Mr. Attapol, solving air pollution is one of the government’s priority tasks.
Measures include expanding work-from-home policies, lowering the cost of low-sulphur fuels in the capital and surrounding areas, monitoring the burning of waste on farms, as well as supporting
Mr. Attapol said the government is setting a long-term goal of applying Euro-5 standards for vehicle emissions by 2024.
According to the Department, the average PM2.5 level in 2020 was about 23 μg/m³, down slightly from 25 μg/m³ in 2019. The number of fires also decreased from 90,455 in 2019 to 88,855 in 2020.
`We are seeing an improvement after the measures were introduced. In 2020, the number of days when air quality exceeded safe levels was less than 20% of the days of the year,` according to Director Attapol.
Mai Dung (According to Bangkok Post)
