In North, all districts in Mae Hong Son declared disaster
Fog blanketed some parts of Bangkok yesterday morning partly owing to the fires being lit by farmers in other provinces in Central Thailand.
"The visibility is not good in Don Mueang, Din Daeng and Phaholyothin," the Meteorological Department's deputy director general Somchai Baimuang said.
The amount of small dust particles in Bangkok's Din Daeng area reached 121.4 micrograms per cubic metre of air yesterday. For the health of residents, dust particles should not go beyond 120 mcg per cubic metre of air.
So far, Somchai said, the pollution would ease in Bangkok pretty soon after the cold air mass from China, which is hovering over Thailand, loses its strength.
Meanwhile, Mae Hong Son Governor Kamthorn Thawornsathit said the smog problems prompted him to declare all districts in his province as disaster zones.
The smog density in the province exceeded a level described as "dangerous", he said, citing a study that attributed the density to the current high pressure and the local panlike landscape, that makes smog stay low and linger.
"The dry and hot climate with virtually no ventilation, coupled with manmade fires just before farming seasons, all attribute to the high density," he added.
The smog density in Mae Hong Son and the rest of the North has increased way beyond a critical level with local residents advised not to exercise and to stay indoors to avoid respiratory problems.
Up to 12,914 residents in Mae Hong Song have already sought treatment due to symptoms related to the smog.
So far, 40,000 facemasks have been prepared for distribution among local residents and flights to and from Mae Hong Son have been suspended for three days, Kamthorn said. This has resulted in local tourism being affected, as the mountainous province is highly dependent on local and foreign travellers.
Wildfires, the main source of the smog, have been reported 46 times, already destroying 163 rai of forests this year, compared to 159 incidents which saw 536 rai of forests destroyed in all of 2009. Local forestry offices in the North are instructed to encourage farmers not to burn old crops.
A meeting of local administration officials and the Pollution Control Department is being held today in Mae Hong Son to discuss health problems and immediate solutions for local residents.
A health advisory released yesterday called on local residents to reduce exercising to limit the inhalation of toxic air heavy with particulate matter.
