Thailand ponders measures against burgeoning haze crisis

Thailand is mulling a series of measures to tackle the haze problem, including joint efforts with its neighbors, as air pollution in the Southeast Asian country becomes a major public health concern.

The haze, partly fanned by wildfires, is posing a serious threat to people's health.

Statistics from the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency indicated that more than two-thirds of Thailand's 77 provinces recorded serious haze problems over several days last week.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has made tackling pollution — especially of the PM2.5 variety — as one of his government's priorities. PM2.5 pollutants are fine, inhalable air pollutant particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.

To combat the haze, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has introduced regulations to ban the disposal of agricultural waste. It has also set a target of reducing agriculture burning by 50 percent in 17 provinces in the northern region.

In other provinces of the country, agriculture burning will be reduced by 10 percent.

Farmers are also encouraged to make three major changes: Adopting more efficient planting methods, planting more crops with less waste, and increasing the proportion of plants with economic value.

"Thailand is also discussing cooperation with parties from both home and abroad, and making a specific goal of fighting the air pollution," Keniga Ounchit, deputy spokeswoman for the Prime Minister's Office, said at a recent news conference.

According to reports, Thailand and Cambodia are also expected to continue exchanges and cooperation against haze through a task force.

Public awareness

The Thai government will communicate more with farmers to educate them on farming and haze control, Keniga said. It will also strive to improve public awareness on the health risks posed by pollutants.

Apart from climatic conditions, the sources of air pollution vary from region to region in Thailand, said Nion Sirimongkollertkul from the Faculty of Engineering at the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna.

"In cities such as Bangkok, vehicle exhaust and industrial pollution are the main factors to blame, while the biggest sources of the toxic haze in the north region are forest fires and agricultural burning," she explained.

Last year, Bangkok's neighboring province of Samut Prakan was ranked as having the world's ninth-worst air quality, according to House Fresh, a publication focused on air quality. Its analysis found that the province did not enjoy a single day of good air quality throughout the year.

Chiang Mai, northern Thailand's cultural and tourist hub, was also ranked as the world's most polluted city, according to Swiss air quality company IQAir in April. The worst day was recorded on April 6, when the PM2.5 reading hit 223, nearly 15 times more than the daily limit as advised by the World Health Organization.

"Smog poses a long-term threat to people's health," Nion said. "We are worried about the children who may suffer from other conditions that are even worse. Also, the polluted air brings with it the risk of cancer."

During his visit to Chiang Mai last week, Srettha vowed to promote the development of an electric mass transit system to help solve the persistent air pollution problem, as it also affects the tourism industry.