Chiang Mai issues urgent work-from-home warning as PM2.5 soars even higher
Government agencies in Chiang Mai were ordered to let staff work from home on Friday as levels of PM2.5 smog surged to almost unprecedented levels.
In an urgent announcement issued on Friday morning, Chiang Mai governor Nirat Pongsitthavorn said officials who can work from home or online without impacting public services should be allowed to do so.
The announcement cited PM2.5 levels of between 112 and 398 micrograms per cubic metre of air (μg/m3) in the previous 24 hours.
The safe level of PM2.5 in Thailand has been set at 50μg/m3, though the World Health Organisation (WHO) sets it at 12μg/m3.
PM2.5 is ultra-fine dust that can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause chronic diseases including lung and heart problems.
Chiang Mai again topped the rankings of the world’s most polluted cities on Friday. PM2.5 in the northern city measured 299.9μg/m3, according to air quality-monitoring website IQAir.
That figure was four times higher than the second-most polluted city in the world rankings, Karachi.
Forest fires and burning to clear farmland are thought to be the main causes of smog and fine dust air pollution in the north. Satellite images taken over the past few weeks have showed thousands of fires burning across northern Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar and Laos.
The governor also urged business operators to consider letting their employees work from home on Friday to reduce people’s exposure to the outside air and traffic emissions, another cause of air pollution in the province.
People in vulnerable groups – small children, pregnant women, seniors, and those with chronic health problems – have been advised to stay indoors if possible.
The announcement also said that childcare centres that have no dust-proof rooms should consider closing for one day, while public parks in areas with high air pollution readings should close for outdoor activities.
The Pollution Control Department’s Air4Thai app measured the PM2.5 level in Chiang Mai Muang district at 228μg/m3 as of 8am on Friday. The level in Chiang Dao district’s Muang Na was even higher, at 288μg/m3.
