It was quite bad here a couple of days ago. I could barely see Ko Larn from central Pattaya. So I checked and the reading was around 40 µg/m³.
Today, it is about 21µg/m³ outside my room in Jomtien The same as the nearest IQAir reading.
Inside it was about 3, thanks to the filter material that I added to the aircon unit.
Major air pollution in Bangkok
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Gaybutton
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Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
Unhealthy smog rising in Thailand throughout next week
December 20, 2025
People in Thailand are warned of experiencing higher levels of harmful smog throughout next week, according to Pollution Control Department (PCD).
The overall levels of particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter (PM2.5) have begun to increase in several areas, the PCD reported on Saturday morning.
The orange level that starts to affect health was detected mainly in the Northeast (Nong Khai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Phanom, Kalasin, Maha Sarakham and Yasothon) and the Central Plains (Sing Buri, Saraburi, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya and Samut Songkhram).
The government-set safe threshold for PM2.5 is 37.5 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m³), and the average levels measured across the country on Saturday are:
The North: 4.8 – 36.4 µg/m³
The Northeast: 20.4 – 60.5 µg/m³
The Central and West: 22.1 – 45.0 µg/m³
The East: 12.8 – 30.8 µg/m³
The South: 8.0 – 25.3 µg/m³
Bangkok and its outskirts recorded orange levels in 31 monitoring stations, with an overall level being 25.4 – 57.8 µg/m³.
The city office reported top 12 districts with the highest PM.25 levels are Bang Na (48.1 µg/m³), Prawet (47.4 µg/m³), Chatuchak (44.6 µg/m³), Min Buri (43.6 µg/m³), Bang Rak (42.9 µg/m³), Nong Khaem (42.7 µg/m³), Sathon (42.6 µg/m³), Pathum Wan (42.2 µg/m³), Khlong Sam Wa (41.4 µg/m³), Lat Krabang (41.0 µg/m³), Bang Sue (40.1 µg/m³) and Nong Chok (40.1 µg/m³).
The department said the levels were likely to rise above the safe standard until Dec 26, with Bangkok and the northeastern and central regions most affected due to the cold air mass that traps the dust and prevents dispersion.
People are urged to refrain from open burning and to use public transportation to reduce traffic emissions. Patients, children, the elderly and pregnant women are advised to take extra care and limit outdoor activities.
Air quality updates are available on the Air4Thai website or its mobile application.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -next-week
December 20, 2025
People in Thailand are warned of experiencing higher levels of harmful smog throughout next week, according to Pollution Control Department (PCD).
The overall levels of particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter (PM2.5) have begun to increase in several areas, the PCD reported on Saturday morning.
The orange level that starts to affect health was detected mainly in the Northeast (Nong Khai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Phanom, Kalasin, Maha Sarakham and Yasothon) and the Central Plains (Sing Buri, Saraburi, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya and Samut Songkhram).
The government-set safe threshold for PM2.5 is 37.5 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m³), and the average levels measured across the country on Saturday are:
The North: 4.8 – 36.4 µg/m³
The Northeast: 20.4 – 60.5 µg/m³
The Central and West: 22.1 – 45.0 µg/m³
The East: 12.8 – 30.8 µg/m³
The South: 8.0 – 25.3 µg/m³
Bangkok and its outskirts recorded orange levels in 31 monitoring stations, with an overall level being 25.4 – 57.8 µg/m³.
The city office reported top 12 districts with the highest PM.25 levels are Bang Na (48.1 µg/m³), Prawet (47.4 µg/m³), Chatuchak (44.6 µg/m³), Min Buri (43.6 µg/m³), Bang Rak (42.9 µg/m³), Nong Khaem (42.7 µg/m³), Sathon (42.6 µg/m³), Pathum Wan (42.2 µg/m³), Khlong Sam Wa (41.4 µg/m³), Lat Krabang (41.0 µg/m³), Bang Sue (40.1 µg/m³) and Nong Chok (40.1 µg/m³).
The department said the levels were likely to rise above the safe standard until Dec 26, with Bangkok and the northeastern and central regions most affected due to the cold air mass that traps the dust and prevents dispersion.
People are urged to refrain from open burning and to use public transportation to reduce traffic emissions. Patients, children, the elderly and pregnant women are advised to take extra care and limit outdoor activities.
Air quality updates are available on the Air4Thai website or its mobile application.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -next-week
Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
Does "asking people to refrain from burning" stand a chance of working with Thai culture?Bangkok Post wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 4:58 pm People are urged to refrain from open burning and to use public transportation to reduce traffic emissions. Patients, children, the elderly and pregnant women are advised to take extra care and limit outdoor activities.
Some of them just don't seem to care.
For example, there's one of those pickups that drives around selling fruit. Older guy driving, younger guy in the back selling. Possibly father and son, particularly as the younger guy is trusted with the cash. They park up on Dongtan Beach for extended periods, with the engine idling. Poisoning both of them, but particularly the young lad in the back. Presumably just for the elder guy to keep the aircon running.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
Bangkok issues PM2.5 health warning ahead of year-end
By Pattaya Mail
December 26, 2025
Bangkok has issued a public health warning from December 28, 2025, to Jan. 3, 2026, as weather conditions are expected to increase the risk of PM2.5 pollution across the capital. Weak winds and low atmospheric ventilation, most pronounced from nighttime through early morning, are forecast to trap airborne particles and allow pollution levels to build.
City officials have urged residents, farmers, and business operators to avoid all forms of open burning, including agricultural-residue burning, waste incineration, and other outdoor burning, as such activities would significantly worsen air quality during the high-risk period. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has also coordinated with upwind provinces and neighboring areas to enforce restrictions on open burning.
At the same time, authorities are expanding pollution control measures, including extending Low Emission Zones to all 50 districts, boosting the Green List and Green List Plus programs to curb black smoke from trucks, and intensifying inspections to ensure vehicle exhaust emissions remain within legal limits, with black smoke capped at 20 percent.
Residents can monitor real-time air quality conditions via the AirBKK website, the AirBKK mobile application, and the Bangkok Air Quality Information Center’s social media channels, as the city continues to closely monitor pollution levels throughout the year-end period.
https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnew ... end-530524
By Pattaya Mail
December 26, 2025
Bangkok has issued a public health warning from December 28, 2025, to Jan. 3, 2026, as weather conditions are expected to increase the risk of PM2.5 pollution across the capital. Weak winds and low atmospheric ventilation, most pronounced from nighttime through early morning, are forecast to trap airborne particles and allow pollution levels to build.
City officials have urged residents, farmers, and business operators to avoid all forms of open burning, including agricultural-residue burning, waste incineration, and other outdoor burning, as such activities would significantly worsen air quality during the high-risk period. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has also coordinated with upwind provinces and neighboring areas to enforce restrictions on open burning.
At the same time, authorities are expanding pollution control measures, including extending Low Emission Zones to all 50 districts, boosting the Green List and Green List Plus programs to curb black smoke from trucks, and intensifying inspections to ensure vehicle exhaust emissions remain within legal limits, with black smoke capped at 20 percent.
Residents can monitor real-time air quality conditions via the AirBKK website, the AirBKK mobile application, and the Bangkok Air Quality Information Center’s social media channels, as the city continues to closely monitor pollution levels throughout the year-end period.
https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnew ... end-530524
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Gaybutton
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Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
'Make emitters responsible': Thailand's clean air activists
December 28, 2025
A finance specialist who struggled after running in smog and a doctor who fears for the health of his children are among the activists spearheading landmark air pollution legislation in Thailand despite political uncertainty.
Each winter, large parts of Thailand are plagued by haze caused by weather patterns, seasonal burning, vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions.
Years of efforts to tackle the problem, including work-from-home policies and rules on crop stubble burning, have done little to alleviate the issue.
Now, there is a glimmer of hope for fresh action in the form of the Clean Air bill, which would enshrine the right to breathable air, tax emitters and offer public information on the sources of pollution.
Wirun Limsawart, who has helped lead the push for the measure as part of the Thailand Clean Air Network (CAN), grew up in southern Nakhon Si Thammarat.
But it wasn't until he returned to Thailand in 2018 after a decade abroad that he realised the scale of the country's pollution problem.
He began to worry about the impact of the dirty air on his three children.
"It made me question my role as an anthropologist and a doctor," he told AFP.
"What can I do?"
The son of a seamstress and a mechanic, Wirun was a straight-A student who studied at one of Thailand's top medical schools.
"My parents always showed me what it meant to genuinely care for others in their work, so that kind of embedded in me," the 49-year-old said.
"I chose a career path that allowed me to help people."
His life has been marked by illness.
In his early twenties, Wirun collapsed on a bus and was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
After chemotherapy and years of follow-up tests, the experience deepened his desire to better understand patients.
"My role was switched to become a patient... I wanted to genuinely understand patients from a doctor's perspective."
After eight years as a general practitioner in some of Thailand's poorest and most remote regions, he obtained a master's degree and PhD in anthropology at Harvard University.
He now works at the Ministry of Public Health as an anthropological doctor, blending medical research with studying human behaviour.
'My problem too'
Wirun's pollution worries led him to a panel discussion in Bangkok on the issue in 2019, and the conversations evolved into CAN, which has spent several years advancing clean air legislation.
More than 20,000 people backed the group's call for action -- surpassing the threshold for public-initiated legislation -- and a draft bill passed the Thai parliament's lower house in October.
"We need to make emitters responsible," Wirun said.
But that goal is facing a new hurdle after Thailand's prime minister dissolved parliament this month, putting the bill on hold.
Still, the measure could be brought back after general elections early next year, if there is political will, according to Weenarin Lulitanonda, CAN's co-founder.
"In Thailand, and particularly in the very highly uncertain political environment, one of the things that Thais are certain of is a huge amount of uncertainty," she said.
"Right now, honestly, it's anyone's guess. We really don't know until general elections are held."
An outdoor run in 2018 drew Weenarin into clean air activism. The experience left her with a piercing headache she later learned was caused by Bangkok's seasonal smog.
More than 10 million people required treatment for pollution-related health problems in Thailand in 2023, according to the health ministry.
Weenarin had previously lived in New Zealand and never worried about air quality, but the more she looked into the issue, the more she was determined to do something about it.
"How is it possible that (in Thailand) someone has no information about what they are breathing?" she said, recalling the question that pushed her into activism.
Having studied finance and worked at the World Bank, Weenarin began contacting experts to understand the problem before helping establish CAN.
She said her motivation is simple: "If there were an alternative to breathing, I wouldn't care."
Clean-air reforms rarely start with governments or businesses, Weenarin said, and she worries too few Thais see the crisis as their problem.
"Don't vote for anybody who doesn't have clean air legislation as a key political manifesto and a commitment... follow them, become the political watchdog that we all need to be," she said.
She is determined to keep fighting though, so "enough Thais wake up and say this is my problem too".
Story and photos: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/2 ... -activists
December 28, 2025
A finance specialist who struggled after running in smog and a doctor who fears for the health of his children are among the activists spearheading landmark air pollution legislation in Thailand despite political uncertainty.
Each winter, large parts of Thailand are plagued by haze caused by weather patterns, seasonal burning, vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions.
Years of efforts to tackle the problem, including work-from-home policies and rules on crop stubble burning, have done little to alleviate the issue.
Now, there is a glimmer of hope for fresh action in the form of the Clean Air bill, which would enshrine the right to breathable air, tax emitters and offer public information on the sources of pollution.
Wirun Limsawart, who has helped lead the push for the measure as part of the Thailand Clean Air Network (CAN), grew up in southern Nakhon Si Thammarat.
But it wasn't until he returned to Thailand in 2018 after a decade abroad that he realised the scale of the country's pollution problem.
He began to worry about the impact of the dirty air on his three children.
"It made me question my role as an anthropologist and a doctor," he told AFP.
"What can I do?"
The son of a seamstress and a mechanic, Wirun was a straight-A student who studied at one of Thailand's top medical schools.
"My parents always showed me what it meant to genuinely care for others in their work, so that kind of embedded in me," the 49-year-old said.
"I chose a career path that allowed me to help people."
His life has been marked by illness.
In his early twenties, Wirun collapsed on a bus and was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
After chemotherapy and years of follow-up tests, the experience deepened his desire to better understand patients.
"My role was switched to become a patient... I wanted to genuinely understand patients from a doctor's perspective."
After eight years as a general practitioner in some of Thailand's poorest and most remote regions, he obtained a master's degree and PhD in anthropology at Harvard University.
He now works at the Ministry of Public Health as an anthropological doctor, blending medical research with studying human behaviour.
'My problem too'
Wirun's pollution worries led him to a panel discussion in Bangkok on the issue in 2019, and the conversations evolved into CAN, which has spent several years advancing clean air legislation.
More than 20,000 people backed the group's call for action -- surpassing the threshold for public-initiated legislation -- and a draft bill passed the Thai parliament's lower house in October.
"We need to make emitters responsible," Wirun said.
But that goal is facing a new hurdle after Thailand's prime minister dissolved parliament this month, putting the bill on hold.
Still, the measure could be brought back after general elections early next year, if there is political will, according to Weenarin Lulitanonda, CAN's co-founder.
"In Thailand, and particularly in the very highly uncertain political environment, one of the things that Thais are certain of is a huge amount of uncertainty," she said.
"Right now, honestly, it's anyone's guess. We really don't know until general elections are held."
An outdoor run in 2018 drew Weenarin into clean air activism. The experience left her with a piercing headache she later learned was caused by Bangkok's seasonal smog.
More than 10 million people required treatment for pollution-related health problems in Thailand in 2023, according to the health ministry.
Weenarin had previously lived in New Zealand and never worried about air quality, but the more she looked into the issue, the more she was determined to do something about it.
"How is it possible that (in Thailand) someone has no information about what they are breathing?" she said, recalling the question that pushed her into activism.
Having studied finance and worked at the World Bank, Weenarin began contacting experts to understand the problem before helping establish CAN.
She said her motivation is simple: "If there were an alternative to breathing, I wouldn't care."
Clean-air reforms rarely start with governments or businesses, Weenarin said, and she worries too few Thais see the crisis as their problem.
"Don't vote for anybody who doesn't have clean air legislation as a key political manifesto and a commitment... follow them, become the political watchdog that we all need to be," she said.
She is determined to keep fighting though, so "enough Thais wake up and say this is my problem too".
Story and photos: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/2 ... -activists
Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
Well, it's about time something was done.
The benefits of reducing pollution will exceed the costs, at least for the low hanging fruit.
The benefits of reducing pollution will exceed the costs, at least for the low hanging fruit.
Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
I wonder if they plan to get rid of the 500 and 1,000 baht notes first before introducing this Clean Air Act?
Just a thought...
Just a thought...
Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
I wonder if they plan to get rid of the 500 and 1,000 baht notes first before introducing this Clean Air Act?
Just a thought...
Just a thought...
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Gaybutton
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Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
I think the usual will happen with both the clean air and the baht notes - nothing.
Re: Major air pollution in Bangkok
Well, they're incapable of enforcing legislation here.
They can't even get people to stop at red lights, when the technology exists to catch every single vehicle that fails to stop. So what hope is there for pollution?
The only persistent law enforcement I see is for parking offences. Even there, it appears that the "fine" isn't set high enough to discourage offending.
They can't even get people to stop at red lights, when the technology exists to catch every single vehicle that fails to stop. So what hope is there for pollution?
The only persistent law enforcement I see is for parking offences. Even there, it appears that the "fine" isn't set high enough to discourage offending.