A recent survey from Suan Dusit University found that a large portion of the Thai population is seriously concerned about PM2.5 air pollution. The poll, conducted from December 12 to 15 through telephone interviews with 1.123 participants across the country, showed that almost 90% of respondents are concerned about PM2,5. Of this group, 48,89% are 'very concerned' and 41,58% are 'very concerned'.
The survey found that the top perceived causes of PM2,5 pollution are agricultural waste burning and forest fires, with 79,04% of respondents reporting this. Other causes mentioned are factory emissions (70,65%) and construction work (68,42%). Respondents emphasized that the recurring nature of forest fires and burning of agricultural residues, both due to human and natural factors, and continuous construction projects make PM2.5 pollution a persistent problem.
The Anti-Air Pollution Center of the Pollution Control Department reported high levels of PM18 in many parts of the country on December 2,5. In Thailand, the official safe threshold for PM2,5 is 37,6 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). Cities such as Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom and several other provinces are among the areas most affected by this pollution.
Recently, deputy government spokesperson Kenika Aunjit announced that more and more sugarcane farmers are abandoning the burning of agricultural waste. This follows a decision by the cabinet to offer compensation. Farmers who choose not to burn sugarcane residues will receive a subsidy of 120 baht per tonne of sugarcane harvested. This policy is an attempt to tackle the problem of air pollution and protect the health of the population.
The fact that the majority of the population is now concerned first after all these years of pollution may at most be in those circles that have received a good education.
The majority of the other population group, which is actually most of them, have no idea what this PM2,5 pollution can do if they are not told it every day by their farang partner.
Well, they all have a mask that has almost developed into a normal piece of clothing, but everyone uses it properly in their own way.
My Thai wife arrived on December 8. Jl. arrived with me in Chiang Rai, when it already started to irritate our neck on the 4th day of our stay.
Apparently I am very sensitive to it, so that I could hardly sleep in bed at night because of the tickly cough attacks.
My wife started to have the same symptoms, so we went to the village doctor in the evening, hoping for relief from our complaints.
When we were sitting in the doctor's waiting room, I heard one after another say that we had "tjep koh" (sore throat).
I joke that the doctor who later opens his practice in the North should only concentrate on sore throat due to air pollution during his studies, because an estimated 80% enter the practice with this condition.
Well, we received an injection and the necessary medicines, and the advice to wear a mask outdoors for the next few days.
The next day my wife and her sister went to the village temple, dutifully masked, because they had to help there, and when they returned they took off the mask to go to the sister's garden
sit.555
According to her Thai logic, this was no longer outside the home, because it concerned her sister's property.555
And although it is no exaggeration that the village doctor's waiting room is full every evening with people who have problems with this bad air, everyone continues to burn all possible waste, so understanding or worrying, it certainly looks different to me here in the countryside.
Man has the fantastic ability to always place the blame on someone else, John.
Self-interest often triumphs over the common good.
It seems that the Thai has a place on the podium in this regard.
Here in Korat it is doable, but I have had air conditioning with a PM2,5 filter for several years, not that you are 'safe', but it helps.
In this subject, transport is left alone, even though there is a really good score there.
This is not only caused by combustion, but also by wear and tear of rubber.
Worse still, that share is many times greater than the combustion.
That injection from the doctor………………with a bottle of pills………………questionable.
Dear Willem-Korat, Of course you are right about the fact that people often place the blame on someone else.
It's not me who flies, drives too much car, or burns so much garbage, it's always the others in the eyes of many people.
According to them, the existing laws and rules are made for others, while they like to rely on exceptions.
This behavior also indicates that many, at least so far, are not that concerned at all.
If these concerns were really widely available, as the article above tells us, many more people would also start to change their own behavior.
Furthermore, I agree with you that traffic also plays a large part in this pollution, which I believe affects the large cities and their surroundings.
Only here in the North do we have the real palpable burden every year, mainly from the infamous Burning Season.
And as far as the injection and pills that you receive from a doctor in case of complaints are not questionable, because they can of course positively influence the healing of the throat infection caused by this bad air.
I was able to sleep again the first night without tickly cough attacks, while of course I have no illusion that these medications can prevent the cause itself.
If that were true, everyone could get an injection and a few medications once a year, so that everyone could continue to pollute.555
Often an unpleasant combination of circumstances.
It was sad in our neighborhood until a few years ago, people dutifully paid to have the garbage collected, but the garbage truck never came.
The result was full bags and mountains of garbage on the roadside, the full baby diapers were on the street.
Out of necessity they had to start burning.
A small company with a lot of plastic waste burned a lot of plastic every evening, which smelled terrible and was correspondingly unhealthy.
There seem to be new laws and regulations, because luckily now the garbage truck comes to collect the waste every week.
Last May it was bone dry, very hot, a complete ban on burning rice fields, yes yes.
At one point I saw huge clouds of smoke a few kilometers downwind of us.
Yes, some moron had set his rice fields on fire and against the wind the fire was with us within half an hour, well then you stand with the sweat in your buttocks of fear whether your things will be preserved, luckily we have we made it and helped the fire brigade, but you keep the idiotic miscreants who burn things down despite all the bans.
Gr. Arno
Information and enforcement are the things that are needed, to reach the largest possible group you could start at schools to teach environment and climate for an hour a week.
Instead of those predictable hiso soap operas, you can also make a soap about air pollution and its terrible consequences.
And then the enforcement, when will those weirdos who blow out pitch-black smoke clouds with their converted pickup trucks be finally tackled for "fun".
Life expectancy is 71,5 years for men and 76,3 years for women.
The average life expectancy in the Netherlands is 79,7 years for men and 83,1 years for women