PUBLISHED: 30 Apr 2024 at 04: 45
Local officials claim that fires have spread throughout Chiang Mai and that the air quality has continued to decline over the past few weeks.
The province is one of the northern regions ‘ areas and has been ranked among the cities with the worst heat quality in the world. Over the past month, the town’s center has been covered in heavy smog.
In addition to the 166 hotspots that the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Agency ( Gistda ) discovered on Sunday, the province’s Wildfire and Pollution Control Command Centre reported 52 additional hotspots in Chiang Mai yesterday morning.
The report came despite Chiang Mai’s Wildfire and Pollution Control Command Centre reporting a decrease in burning activity in the county.
The state’s six air quality monitoring facilities– three in Muang area and one each in Chiang Dao, Heated and Mae Chaem regions– recorded harmful levels of ultra- fine particulate matter ( PM2.5 ) in the air, with observations ranging from 53.3 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³ ) to 102.7 μg/m³.
Any PM2.5 reading higher than the healthy level for 24- minute coverage of 37.5 μg/m ³ is considered bad.
According to the air quality monitoring business IQAir.com, Chiang Mai’s air quality index reached 161 while its PM2.5 levels measured 74.1 μg/m ³ at 10am tuesday, making it the world’s third most poisoned area.
Chiang Mai often appeared on the list of the world’s most polluted places between April 1 and 29 this year, the webpage data showed.
Authorities are working their best to stop fire in the area, according to Chiang Mai government Nirat Phongsitthithawon, who yesterday stated. He demanded that all relevant organizations implement anti-pollution measures to combat the great sand waste, which is harmful to health and harms the local tourism industry.