As PM2.5 smog levels soared to nearly unheard-of heights on Friday, government offices in Chiang Mai were ordered to permit personnel to work from home.
Nirat Pongsitthavorn, the governor of Chiang Mai, said in an urgent statement that officials who can operate remotely or online without impairing public services should be permitted to do so.
According to the notice, PM2.5 concentrations in the previous 24 hours ranged from 112 to 398 g/m3.
Notwithstanding the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of 12 g/m3, the safe PM2.5 limit in Thailand has been set at 50 g/m3.
Ultra-fine PM2.5 dust can induce heart and lung difficulties as well as other chronic ailments by penetrating deeply into the lungs.
On Friday, Chiang Mai once again topped the list of the most polluting cities in the world. IQAir, a website that tracks air quality, said that the northern city’s PM2.5 concentration was 299.9 g/m3.
The second-most polluted city in the world, Karachi, with a pollution level that was four times greater.
According to experts, the primary contributors to haze and fine dust air pollution in the north are forest fires and burning to clear fields. Thousands of flames are burning throughout northern Thailand and the neighboring countries of Burma and Laos, according to satellite photographs acquired over the previous several weeks.
The governor also asked company owners to think about allowing their workers to work from home on Friday in an effort to lessen exposure to outside air and traffic fumes, which are another source of air pollution in the province.
Little children, expectant women, the elderly, and those with long-term health issues have all been warned to stay indoors if at all possible.
The notification also recommended that childcare facilities without dust-proof rooms think about closing for one day and that outdoor activities be suspended in public parks in regions with high air pollution readings.
The PM2.5 concentration in Chiang Mai Muang district was 228 g/m3 as of 8 am on Friday, according to the Pollution Control Department’s Air4Thai app. Muang Na in the Chiang Dao district had an even higher level, at 288 g/m3.
