Deadly air: Doctor issues dire warning over PM2.5 crisis
The number of people getting sick from fine dust in the air rose in February, even though PM2.5 is already killing up to 40,000 Thais a year, Dr Chaichan Phothirat, a respiratory expert at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Medicine, said on Sunday.
He made the comments just hours before Chiang Mai was ranked the 6th most polluted city in the world – as of 1pm on Sunday, according to the website IQAir.
Levels of PM2.5 – particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter – have exceeded safe levels in Chiang Mai since February.
PM2.5 in the province's Hot district reached 138 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3) of air on Sunday.
Thailand’s safe level for PM2.5 is a maximum of 50μg/m3. The World Health Organisation, however, sets its safe threshold far lower, at 12μg/m3.
The number of asthma patients in Thailand will increase by 3% for every 10% increase in PM2.5, Chaichan said.
The number of patients sickened by PM2.5 rose sharply in February, he said.
"In the long term, PM2.5 could cause people to be at greater risk of lung cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, and ischemic heart disease," he added.
Chaichan said the national government, provincial governors, and public health agencies should pay greater attention to PM2.5. Officials should launch public education campaigns, especially for people with respiratory diseases, he said.
People should refrain from outdoor activity and stay in a room equipped with an air purifier, he said, adding that – without air purifiers – the quality of indoor air is the same as outdoor air. If people have to go outdoors they should wear N95 masks, he added.
In Bangkok, most of the city was covered in hazardous air on Sunday, with 62 air-quality monitoring stations reporting high levels of PM2.5.
PM2.5 readings ranged between 44 and 76μg/m3 in the capital.
The Bangkok Air Quality Centre expects the volume of PM2.5 to increase until Wednesday before it starts declining the next day.
Those living in areas with high levels of air pollution should remain indoors and check pollution levels before going outside, the centre said.
Pollution in Greater Bangkok can be monitored at bangkok airquality.com, the Bangkok Environment Department, the Air Quality and Noise Management Division, the BMA Facebook page or the AirBKK smartphone application.
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