Severe air pollution hits Thailand’s Chiang Mai city

April 13, 2023 | 15:53

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The historical city of Chiang Mai has been under thick smog as a result of hazardous pollution levels in northern Thailand, triggering concerns about the impact on locals’ health and tourism, a key sector of the economy.

Severe air pollution hits Thailand’s Chiang Mai city | World | Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus)

Thick smog blankets Chiang Mai city of Thailand on April 11, 2023. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Hanoi – The historical city of Chiang Mai has been under thick smog as a result of hazardous pollution levels in northern Thailand, triggering concerns about the impact on locals’ health and tourism, a key sector of the economy.

On April 11, the level of the fine particles PM2.5, which can enter the bloodstream, was more than 30 times the World Health Organisation's annual guideline, according to global air monitoring platform IQAir.

IQAir ranked Chiang Mai among the most polluted places in the world, above regular hotspots such as Lahore and Delhi.

According to the Thai Ministry of Health, nearly 2 million people in the country have been hospitalised for respiratory illnesses related to air pollution so far this year.

Fine-dust pollution has also considerably affected tourism in Chiang Mai.

Kanchaya Boontan, 40, who runs the CM Siam Travel tourism company, said that this year is bad. Forced to close all four of her shops during the COVID-19 pandemic, she has just started to get back on her feet.

However, the Thai Hotel Association Northern Chapter last week warned that domestic tourists are cancelling their Songkran New Year holiday reservations due to pollution levels.

Air pollution in this tourist city is mainly caused by forest fires and seasonal agricultural burning.

Satellite images released by Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency showed thousands of forest fire hotspots last week, with the northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Mae Hong Son recording the most. Famous tourists destinations there almost “disappeared” in thick smog while many tourists having to quickly leave those places to avoid air pollution.

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By VNA

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