Thai capital points work-from-home order as air air pollution hits hazardous ranges

• Metropolis workers in Bangkok, Thailand, have been ordered to make money working from home for 2 days as a result of hovering air air pollution ranges.
• Air air pollution, primarily brought on by the burning of forests and agricultural waste, has been a longstanding situation in Thailand’s north.
• The Division of Air pollution Management declared the beginning of the annual smog season in Bangkok final month.

Metropolis workers in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, have been ordered Thursday to make money working from home for 2 days, and people within the non-public sector have been inspired to take action as nicely, as air air pollution soared to unhealthy ranges.

Air air pollution has been an issue for a few years in Thailand’s north, the place the burning of forests and agricultural waste are main contributing elements. However in recent times Bangkok has additionally begun to undergo vastly with prolonged intervals of excessive air pollution which have led to highschool closings and different disruptions.

The Division of Air pollution Management declared final month that Bangkok had formally entered its annual smog season, however the area has suffered from deteriorating air high quality since late final yr. For Chiang Mai and different northern provinces which expertise extended excessive ranges of microscopic mud, the season normally begins in late February, when dry climate and an atmospheric inversion layer trigger airborne particles to build up.

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Bangkok’s Air High quality Index measured an unhealthy 156 on Thursday, with readings of over 163 in some areas, prompting the stay-at-home order, based on the town authorities.

A thick layer of smog is seen masking Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 15, 2024. Metropolis officers in Thailand’s capital Bangkok have been ordered on Thursday to make money working from home for 2 days. (AP Picture/Sakchai Lalit)

Since Monday, Bangkok’s AQI has ranged from 121 to 160.

The microscopic particles can penetrate deeply into the lungs after which transfer additional into the physique, inflicting each short-term bronchial issues and critical long-term well being points. The World Well being Group’s pointers say ranges of tremendous particulate matter equal to AQI 56 shouldn’t be exceeded for 24-hour common exposures.

The Thai government final yr revised its most degree of tremendous particulate matter thought of protected from an equal of AQI 136 all the way down to 105 to be extra according to worldwide requirements.

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The Division of Air pollution Management predicted that air air pollution ranges in Bangkok will stay unhealthy till Saturday, and that the majority areas of the nation, particularly the north and northeast, will expertise excessive ranges by means of the weekend.

The federal government’s Geo-Informatics and Area Expertise Growth Company, which makes use of satellites for distant sensing, declared that 66 of Thailand’s 77 provinces are struggling unhealthy air high quality, with 44 of them thought of very unhealthy.

Air air pollution is more and more turning into a political issue in Bangkok, with the center class rising extra sad and vocal.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin stated on X, previously referred to as Twitter, that about 25% of Bangkok’s air pollution comes from car emissions, including that working from house is a short-term measure. He didn’t specify the remaining sources.

He stated the subsequent step might be a brief suspension of development work and a restrict on the variety of diesel automobiles within the internal metropolis.