Air quality improves in Bangkok metropolitan area

The air quality in all 50 districts of metropolitan Bangkok was classified as “green” to “yellow”, or good to moderate, on Tuesday morning, the Air Quality Information Centre of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said.

The centre reported average PM2.5 levels throughout the city on Tuesday at 20.6 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), under the country’s standard of 37.5 µg/m³ over a three-hour average (5am to 7am).

Yesterday’s reading at the same time was at 30.95 µg/m³.

PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, posing health risks such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Major sources of PM2.5 include traffic emissions, factories, forest fires, and burning of harvest leftovers.

The five districts that reported the highest levels of PM2.5 are Thonburi (30.7 µg/m³), Lat Krabang (26.5 µg/m³), Nong Khaem (26.4 µg/m³), Phasi Charoen (26.4 µg/m³), and Phra Nakhon (26.1 µg/m³).

The centre forecast that the levels of air pollution in the city will further decrease for the rest of this week thanks to rainfall, which are forecast to continue from Wednesday to Saturday.

Air quality can be checked daily on the AirBKK application, www.airbkk.com, Line Alert, as well as the Facebook page of the BMA’s Environment Department.