Bangkok was ranked the world's 10th most polluted city on Friday, according to air quality monitoring firm IQAir.
Bangkok is the 10th most polluted city in the world. Photo: AFP
Thai government officials said the sudden increase was largely due to atmospheric conditions, with fine dust particles accumulating due to colder air, high air pressure and dry weather.
Officials promised to "strengthen measures to prevent PM 2.5 fine dust, such as limiting areas where people can burn crops, establishing regulations between the public and private sectors, increasing monitoring points and negotiating with relevant sectors on transnational pollution."
“Some research papers show that industrial activities are causing a large proportion of PM 2.5, but there is currently very little relevant data published,” said Alliya Moun-ob, air pollution campaigner at Greenpeace Thailand.
The Thai government says the industrial sector accounts for only 4% of the country’s pollution. Instead, it blames factors such as seasonal burning of forests by farmers, including in neighboring countries.
But the recent surge in pollution suggests the industry's impact could be much higher, said Panchom Saetang, director of Thailand's Department of Ecological Warning and Restoration.
She has been studying air quality issues for more than a decade and believes that industry is responsible for nearly a third of the capital’s smog. “I appreciate the government trying to tackle the PM 2.5 issue, but what they should do is take the industry sector seriously,” she said.
Environmentalists are lobbying for legislation that would force factories to disclose emissions data. “We still don’t have enough data to know what the real causes are. The data is not accessible,” Penchom said.
Thai cities, including Chiang Mai, have regularly topped global rankings for poor air quality this year. More than two million Thais have also sought medical treatment this year for problems related to poor air quality, according to the country’s Ministry of Health .
Trung Kien (according to AFP)
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