The haze season has kick-started as PM2.5 haze has been blanketing the capital and wider areas following the cold air mass from mainland China moving in. Some sources of origin including sugarcane production are also singled out
The Pollution Control Department (PCD) has issued a warning suggesting people to be on alert to an increase in PM2.5 concentration levels in Bangkok and its peripheries as well as some other regions including the West.
The department said the situation would continue until tomorrow, but during the period of time, a spike of PM2.5 concentration levels in the capital as well as nearby provinces was reported and registered as red.
As reported by GISTDA, the hourly PM2.5 concentration levels in Bangkok this morning were registered as over 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) in almost all districts, 48. The highest concentration level of the toxic dust was reported in Bangkok Yai at 127.9 µg/m3.
In the nearby provinces, from Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkram, Nakhon Pathom, Rayong, southwest and east of the city, such a hazardous concentration level of the toxic dust was also reported.
Yesterday’s records show a number of hotspots nationwide was registered at 328. They occurred in farm areas the most, at 138, followed by agricultural land reform areas, 72, forest reserves, 70, residential areas, 31, and protected areas, 13. Meanwhile, a number of hotspots in the Mekong region also rose over 1,000.
As of Jan 8, the department recorded the 24-hr average PM2.5 concentration at 38.5-95.7 µg/m3 in Bangkok, 12.4 – 78.7 µg/m3 in the North, and 36.0 – 70.3 µg/m3 in the Northeast.



Credit: GISTDA
The state’s efforts
PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday directed her Cabinet to intensify efforts to tackle the rising levels of PM2.5. Following a Cabinet meeting, the prime minister instructed multiple ministries with implementing urgent measures to mitigate its impact on public health and the environment.
Her Cabinet reported that the Ministry of Transport is strengthening the enforcement of emission controls on large vehicles that contribute to hazardous air pollutants, while the Ministry of Interior is mobilizing the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, provincial governors, and local authorities to monitor pollution levels and implement protective measures for affected communities.
The PM instructed the Ministry of Industry to collaborate with sugarcane processors to reject crops harvested through burning, a practice previously responsible for 70% of PM 2.5 haze. While this figure has dropped to 30-35%, additional steps are being taken to achieve further reductions, according to the Cabinet. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is also working with farmers to explore alternative waste management methods to minimize field burning.
The Office of the Cane and Sugar Board, a government arm to regulate sugar production, has reported that up to 4 million tonnes of burned sugarcane have been harvested and sent to factories for processing. This accounts for 21.80% of over 18 million tons of sugarcane subject to production this year. The burned sugarcane released PM2.5 equivalent to 400,000 rai of burned forest areas, according to the office.
The office noted that it had issued a notice to 58 factories to take only fresh sugarcane and declare a ban over the burned sugarcane during the first half of this month, but still, six major processors largely took the burned crops for processing.
In mid-October last year, the National Environmental Board approved the latest measures to cope with PM2.5 and forest fires with a goal to cut hospots in forest areas by 25% of last year’s records, 10-30% in farm and other target areas, and 100% in transportation and factories in the city of Bangkok. Forst fires are identified as the most critical sources of origin of PM2.5 haze and the forest fire season usually starts later than the haze in Bangkok one or two months, or around February onwards.
The measures include producing risk maps along with pre-season forest fuel management, extra screening and checkpoints in forest areas, zero burning in forests and farm areas, a ban on large transportation vehicles in the city, and others.
A new Clean Air Act is also being vetted in Parliament and expected to be promulgated this year.
Indie • in-depth online news agency
to “bridge the gap” and “connect the dots” with critical and constructive minds on development and environmental policies in Thailand and the Mekong region; to deliver meaningful messages and create the big picture critical to public understanding and decision-making, thus truly being the public’s critical voice