Chiang Mai smog and wildfire hotspots

Chiang Mai entered Thailand’s New Year week under a haze cloud, with the city still sitting among the world’s most polluted on IQAir’s live rankings. (theguardian.com) Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, the state satellite-data agency known as GISTDA, reported 4,579 wildfire hotspots nationwide on Monday, April 13. Bangkok Post said a day earlier that the country had logged a one-day high of 4,750 hotspots, mostly in protected and reserved forest areas. (theguardian.com) (bangkokpost.com) A hotspot is a heat signal picked up by satellites that can indicate an active fire. In northern Thailand, those fires feed the annual smoke season that usually peaks around March and April, when dry forests, farm burning and cross-border haze push fine-particle pollution higher. (bangkokpost.com) (who.int) The pollutant driving the health warnings is particulate matter 2.5, or PM2.5, tiny airborne particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs. Thailand’s 24-hour standard is 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter, while the World Health Organization’s 24-hour guideline is 15 micrograms per cubic meter. (hub.mnre.go.th) (who.int) Chiang Mai has repeatedly topped or neared the top of global pollution rankings this month. Nation Thailand reported the city at number one on April 7 with an Air Quality Index reading of 209, while Thai PBS World said the city was again number one on another morning last week with an index of 191. (nationthailand.com) (thaipbsworld.com) The smoke arrived as Songkran, Thailand’s water-soaked New Year festival, was supposed to fill Chiang Mai’s streets and hotels. Instead, Paisan Sukcharoen of the Chiang Mai Tourism Industry Council said long-holiday room bookings were running at 50 to 60 percent, down from the usual 80 to 90 percent for the same period. (en.thairath.co.th) (chiangmaicitylife.com) Fuel costs added another hit to travel plans. Reuters reporting carried by MSN said Thais traveling for the holiday were also facing a fuel-price spike tied to fighting in the Middle East, adding to the pressure on household budgets and tourist demand. (msn.com) Officials and local media have also pointed to a regional problem, not just fires inside Chiang Mai province. Pattaya Mail reported last week that domestic hotspots had eased somewhat in parts of Thailand, but fire activity in neighboring countries was still high enough to keep PM2.5 risks elevated across the north. (pattayamail.com) That leaves Chiang Mai in a familiar April bind: the city’s biggest festival season is underway, but the same dry-season fires that satellites track across Thailand are again turning holiday air into a public-health warning. (theguardian.com) (gistdaportal.gistda.or.th)