Toxic smog returns to Greater Bangkok

[Gaybutton]

For air purifiers, Moses posted the following on the Sawatdee board:

You should look for something with HEPA filter and airflow from 300 m3/hour and up (when I buy such things usually I calculate 10m3/hour per 1 m2 of appts with celling up to 3 meters high).

Something like Xiaomi Mijia Air Purifier 4 Pro or Electrolux EAP-2060D Yin&Yang (2075D is better tho)

Essential are HEPA filter and night mode, air analyzer and automatic controller is a big +++

Do NOT pay too much attention to declared by manufacturer suitable area, airflow in night (silent) mode is the most important characteristic, you should have at least 10 m3 per hour per 1 sqm, next one is noise in silent (night) mode, it should be below 24 dB, up to 36 dB is OK for day mode.

https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthre ... post297957

[Jun]

I expect Moses has offered good advice for a resident, or anyone prepared to pass the expensive device onto a friend when leaving.

I spent 320 baht on some filtrete from Lazada and installed it in the hotel aircon. This seems to halve the PM2.5 in the room in about 30 minutes, which is a good response. By morning, it's around 5~6 in the room and about 40 outside. I expect people owning their own properties could do better, with additional sealing around doors etc.

The filtrete is available in larger quantities in a roll, which ought to work out cheaper. However, many vendors have sold out. A smart move might be to buy before the dry season.

[billyhouston]

Whereas here in Chiang Mai we have an AQI of 156 and a PM2.5 of 62.7 at 1800.

In the filtered bedroom we have PM2.5 of 14.

[Gaybutton]

Why not do this for all of Thailand? It would certainly be an improvement for Pattaya. And require all vehicles to be tested, not just vehicles 7 years old or older. And make the consequences very expensive for vehicles that fail the test but are driven anyway.

Of course these rules are essentially useless without proper enforcement.
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Bangkok slashes vehicle emission limits ahead of smog season

By Pattaya Mail

November 5, 2025

Bangkok has escalated its fight against air pollution by lowering the vehicle exhaust opacity limit from 30% to a strict 20%, effective November 1, as the city enters its peak PM2.5 season.

Governor Chadchart Sittipunt announced the measure, which is part of a plan to curb emissions primarily from older diesel vehicles. The new standard aims to improve air quality by an estimated 24%, with the Governor also pushing the government to cut the repair grace period for vehicles failing the inspection from 30 days to just three days.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is shifting its enforcement strategy away from roadside checkpoints to pollution sources, including bus depots and construction sites, where all entering vehicles must now be on a “Green List” of compliant motors.

Additionally, the BMA has expanded its ban on heavy trucks (over six wheels) that are not registered on the Green List during high-pollution days to cover all 50 districts.

To encourage private vehicle compliance, the “Green List Plus” program offers discounts for engine oil and filter changes, a simple maintenance practice found to reduce PM2.5 emissions by up to 42%.

The Governor acknowledged that while vehicle exhaust is a primary source of pollution, he needs greater authority to inspect public transport vehicles and urged neighbouring provinces to curb crop burning, noting the pollution peak is expected in January 2026.

https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnew ... son-525100

[Jun]

Why not do this for all of Thailand? It would certainly be an improvement for Pattaya. And require all vehicles to be tested, not just vehicles 7 years old or older.

Agreed. In the UK, any vehicle of 3 years or older requires an annual MOT test, which include emissions.

The new standard aims to improve air quality by an estimated 24%, with the Governor also pushing the government to cut the repair grace period for vehicles failing the inspection from 30 days to just three days.

Repair grace period ????

They need to get rid of that.
Considering the authorities can't possibly test every vehicle on the road, they need to ensure the checks are a proper deterrent.
Why would anyone stop driving a polluting vehicle, if they just get 30 days to fix it when caught ?

I would think 4 tiers should apply to the result.

1 Pass
2 Modest pollution -small fine & require a retest within 14 days
3 Exceeding limit - Large fine + require a retest within 3 days. By large, I'm thinking several thousand baht for a small vehicle and at least 20,000 baht for a bus or heavy truck.
4 Repeat offences. Very large fine and possible scrapping of vehicle.

Thailand is not serious about pollution.
I presume they worry about the costs of improving it, when in practice, the cost of pollution, such as healthcare etc probably exceeds the cost of fixing the pollution. Also, pollution deters some tourists, so that's an additional cost of pollution.

[Gaybutton]

require a retest within 3 days.

I don't think that is very practical. Even if the vehicle is taken for repairs the same day, that doesn't mean the owner will get it back within 3 days to be tested again. If the shop is busy they might not even be able to get to it within 3 days. However, I can see requiring proof the vehicle was taken to a licensed shop - and left there - for repairs within 3 days.

[Jun]

I don't think that is very practical. Even if the vehicle is taken for repairs the same day, that doesn't mean the owner will get it back within 3 days to be tested again. If the shop is busy they might not even be able to get to it within 3 days. However, I can see requiring proof the vehicle was taken to a licensed shop - and left there - for repairs within 3 days.

Probably. Requiring the vehicle to not be used on public roads until retested would be better. With obvious permission to drive directly to a nominated repair centre and then to a test centre, subject to pre-booking of a test.

What they definitely need to do is stop the nonsense where offenders are given 30 days to repair a vehicle. Give the worst of them a big fine immediately.

[Gaybutton]

What they definitely need to do is stop the nonsense where offenders are given 30 days to repair a vehicle. Give the worst of them a big fine immediately.

I agree, but I also know it won't happen. Between lack of manpower to enforce it and tea money for the very rare occasions when offending vehicles actually get stopped, those same offending vehicles will most likely still be on the roads belching out their fumes as usual.

[Jun]

I agree, but I also know it won't happen. Between lack of manpower to enforce it and tea money for the very rare occasions when offending vehicles actually get stopped, those same offending vehicles will most likely still be on the roads belching out their fumes as usual.

I agree. Not only do politicians lack the willpower to improve this, but enforcement would also be a problem.