Chadchart warns residents of higher dust hazard
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt yesterday warned Bangkok residents to brace for an increase in PM2.5 dust particle levels due to a lack of wind and the prevailing cool weather.
Mr Chadchart said on Facebook the situation would worsen in several areas of the capital from today.
The Bangkok Air Quality Facebook page cited readings released at 7am yesterday by air quality stations in the capital, which showed levels of PM2.5 dust ranging from 24 to 46 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³), which were still within the safe threshold of 50 μg/m³.
However, air quality is starting to worsen in some areas — particularly in central, northern and southern Bangkok — where the level of fine dust could begin to have an impact on health this week due to the influence of high air pressure and a cold air mass from China.
Wind speed in the capital fell from 20 to 7 kilometres per hour yesterday, lowering the air circulation rate and air buoyancy which potentially increases dust levels throughout the city.
Mr Chadchart said wind from the northeast carries dust generated from hotspots in Cambodia to the southern parts of the Gulf of Thailand, but the wind will shift from the east and will blow more dust over the capital on Feb 1-2. “The dust problems may be mitigated on Thursday and Friday, but it will depend on wind currents which are not predictable,” he said.
Mr Chadchart said the BMA has monitored the source of the air pollution, including waste incineration activities and the emission of black smoke by vehicles and construction sites.
Citing a BMA Fire and Rescue Department report, 23 people have been caught conducting illegal waste incineration activities in the capital.
Mr Chadchart urged people, especially those from vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with chronic diseases, to put on a face mask while outdoors.
He also sought cooperation from employers in the city to allow staff to work from home so they could avoid dust pollution.
Air quality can be checked with the AirBKK app, the “airbkk.com” website and the Facebook pages of the BMA and its Environment Department, he added.
Meanwhile, data from the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda) said satellite images on Sunday showed a total of 771 hotspots nationwide.
Of them, 219 were in national forest reserves, 190 in agricultural areas, 160 in conservation forests, 112 on Sor Por Kor agricultural land, 84 in community and other areas and 6 along highways.