Chiang Mai Municipality ranks ninth among most polluted cities
Chiang Mai Municipality was ranked the ninth most polluted city in the world on Friday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 147, according to IQAir.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), in coordination with the Royal Thai Army, is working to alleviate air pollution across 17 northern provinces currently experiencing poor air quality.
On Thursday, the DDPM’s Guardian Team deployed a KA-32 helicopter to douse forest fires in the Pang Makham Pom conservation forest, located in Chiang Mai’s Chai Prakan district.
The helicopter completed eight sorties, releasing a total of 24,000 litres of water, before landing at the 7th Infantry Division in Mae Rim district at 3.50pm.
As of 9am on Friday, the IQAir website reported Chiang Mai Municipality’s AQI at 147—well above the safe range of 0–50.
Kuwait City topped the global list with an extraordinarily high AQI of 2,005, followed by Baghdad, Iraq (754), and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (224).
Top 10 most polluted cities (as of 9am):
- Kuwait City, Kuwait – 2,005 AQI
- Baghdad, Iraq – 754 AQI
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 224 AQI
- Beijing, China – 169 AQI
- Jakarta, Indonesia – 162 AQI
- Shanghai, China – 161 AQI
- Hanoi, Vietnam – 158 AQI
- Manila, Philippines – 152 AQI
- Chiang Mai Municipality, Thailand – 147 AQI
- Incheon, South Korea – 140 AQI
