Air quality will be unsafe in Bangkok ‘on Friday and Wednesday’

Pornprom Wikitset, who advises Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, made the announcement while speaking to reporters after a high-level meeting on air pollution in the capital. Representatives from the Health Department, the Pollution Control Department and senior officials of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) attended the meeting.

Pornprom said air quality deteriorated in Bangkok during the cool season when high pressure systems caused fine particles of dust – known as PM2.5 – to accumulate and exceed the safe level of 50 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

Pornprom said the meeting came up with three steps for monitoring air quality and alerting city residents in advance when pollution was expected to reach unsafe levels.

First, a war room will be set up to monitor air quality.

Second, the BMA will release air-quality forecasts seven days in advance.

Third, the BMA will ask the Traffy Fondue app to open a new function to allow city residents to report poor air quality in their areas.

The BMA is seeking help from other government agencies to tackle the causes of air pollution, such as banning the use of vehicles that emit black smoke, and preventing people from burning grass and weeds, Pornprom said.

Phansak Thiramongkol, director of the air quality and noise pollution control division of the Pollution Control Department, said the division had been monitoring air quality in Bangkok and providing forecasts that were seven days in advance.

Phansak said this year the Pollution Control Department found PM2.5 had started to reach unsafe levels on January 22.

On Tuesday, most areas of Bangkok were classified as yellow zones as the level of PM2.5 exceeded the safe level, he added.

“But today, the air quality is good and Bangkok turned blue again,” Phansak said.

“On January 27 and February 1, most areas of Bangkok will turn yellow,” he added.

He said air quality in Bangkok would fluctuate between safe and unsafe levels until April. February will be the worst month, he added.

Sakda Sridej, another official at the Pollution Control Department, said air quality on January 31 and February 1 would be as poor as it was on January 24.

Woranut Suaykhamkhao, deputy director of the BMA’s Environment Department, said if air pollution reaches the yellow level – when PM2.5 is between 51 and 75 micrograms per cubic metre of air – the BMA will ask state agencies and private firms to let 60% of their employees work from home.

However, if PM 2.5 reaches the critical or red level – above 75 micograms – the BMA will ask government agencies to allow 100% of their employees to work from home, and it will shut all schools.

Woranut said the BMA has also expanded the number of clinics for respiratory treatment from three to five. They are: Klang General Hospital, Taksin Hospital, Charoen Krung Pracharak Hospital, Ratchaphiphat Hospital, and Sirindhorn Hospital.