The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and its partner organizations will implement 10 new measures in 2026 to reduce PM2.5 pollution in Bangkok.
During a meeting at the Central Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Command Centre on Wednesday, Tavida Kamolvej, Bangkok’s deputy governor, and Pornphrom Vikitsreth, chief sustainability officer and adviser to the governor, discussed plans for next year’s pollution control efforts, leading to approval of the measures.
Key initiatives include expanding the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) to cover all 50 districts of Bangkok, and launching the Green List Plus project, which promotes regular replacement of motor oil and air filters—aimed at 500,000 vehicles.
The BMA is also tightening its black smoke emission limits from 30% to 20%, a regulation already enforced since November 1.
Ms. Tavida mentioned plans to strengthen pollution inspections, especially at construction sites, and require six-wheeler trucks to register under the Green List program for improved regulation.
Additional measures involve regular checks of 256 factories with steam boilers and collecting data on organic material burning. The dust-free classroom initiative, which last year covered 971 classrooms (49% of the target) and 115 nurseries (44%), will be expanded in 2026 to include 1,966 classrooms and 262 nurseries, completing the full targets.
The BMA also intends to extend its work-from-home policies to reach 300,000 workers next year, up from 100,000 this year out of the targeted 200,000.
Public participation in pollution alerts will be boosted through cell broadcast notifications and social media updates, along with enhancing pollution forecasts from three days to seven days ahead.
As of 9 am Wednesday, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency’s (GISTDA) Check Foon app indicated many provinces, including Nakhon Phanom, Kalasin, Maha Sarakham, Samut Sakhon, Nong Khai, Samut Songkhram, Mukdahan, Khon Kaen, Sakon Nakhon, and Chai Nat, experienced moderate to severe air quality issues.
In Bangkok, only Nong Chok district showed moderate air quality, while others reported dangerously high levels of fine particles, according to the app.