Thailand battles pollution
Thailand is set to deploy rainmaking planes to seed clouds in an effort to tackle the pall of pollution that has shrouded the capital in recent weeks.
The weather modification technique involves dispersing chemicals into the air to aid cloud condensation, which should in theory result in rain.
“The department of royal rainmaking and agricultural aviation expects the rainmaking to be done tomorrow [Tuesday] but it depends on wind and humidity levels,” Thailand’s pollution control department director-general, Pralong Dumrongthai, said.
As Thais woke up on Monday morning to another day of murky air blanketing its bustling construction-filled capital, environment group Greenpeace said Bangkok was the 10th most polluted city in the world, rivalling some cities in China.
Reasons for the persistent smog include exhaust fumes from Bangkok’s traffic-strewn roads, the burning of fields from farmers outside the city and pollutants from factories.
Public discontent has surfaced on Thai social media and television, with pollution-related hashtags trending and TV hosts advising viewers on the types of face masks they should wear.
Air Visual, an independent online air quality index monitor, pegged Bangkok at “unhealthy” levels measuring 156 on the index on Monday – though numbers have often crept higher in the past two months.
But the pollution department played down the dangers of the persistent haze, which the government judges using a different set of measurements to see the concentration of harmful microscopic particles known as PM2.5.
Dumrongthai said Bangkok had recent peak PM2.5 levels of 102 micrograms per cubic metre and on Monday was sitting under 90.
“Our PM figure is high but it is not a crisis yet,” he said.
“We are not in the range of 120-150 where all people have to wear masks all the time when they are out.”
But Greenpeace’s Thailand director Tara Buakamsri said immediate action should be taken by the authorities, such as reducing the number of cars and closing schools in high-risk areas.
“The pollution issues are more and more frequent in Bangkok. We need smarter air quality management,” Buakamsri said. – AFP