Thailand urged to halt crop burning after air pollution spike

BANGKOK: Following a spike in dangerous pollution that left millions of people in need of medical attention, Thailand must outlaw stubble burning by farmers to improve air quality, according to the head of an important agricultural organization on Monday( Sep 18 ).

Bangkok and Chiang Mai in the north were among the world’s most polluted cities on some days in April, and the country experienced poor air quality earlier that season.

As quantities of the most hazardous PM2.5 particles— so tiny they can enter the bloodstream— have reached dangerous levels, authorities advised people to stay inside and work from home.

Farmers torching grass to prepare area for the next crop is one of the main sources of particles, with” burning period” peaking between December and April.

The exercise must be stopped, according to the mind of the kingdom’s best agricultural organization.

According to Pornsil Patcharintanakul, president of the Thai Feed Mill Association( TFMA ), which works under the commerce ministry,” the government should ban crop-burning, the method widely used among farmers in Thailand.”

He urged the new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration to act quickly due to the urgency of the situation.

This time, more than two million people in Thailand sought medical attention due to issues related to air pollution.

According to Pornsil, whose organization oversees the quality of animal supply, Thailand should adhere to international land regulations that prohibit the burning of stubble.

He claimed that three decades was a reasonable amount of time to outlaw the practice.

His request comes as the European Union starts to impose its” Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism” ( CBAM ), which charges for emissions connected to the manufacture of imported goods.

Although it has never provided specifics of what it intends to perform, Srettha’s government has stated that combating PM2.5 is one of its interests.