Chiang Mai is ranked as the city with the third highest level of PM2.5 dust in the atmosphere today, measured at 128.2µg/m³, and an air quality index of 188 on the US AQI, according to the Geo-Informatics and Space Development Agency (GITSDA) and Iqair.com.

Only in Lahore city in Pakistan and New Delhi in India is the air quality worse than in Chiang Mai, with air their quality indices measured at 245 and 195 respectively.

Chiang Mai continues to be shrouded in thick smoke today, from raging forest fires in the province itself, in neighbouring provinces and also from transboundary smoke from Myanmar.

According to GITSDA, a total of 1,663 hotspots were detected in 17 northern provinces yesterday, including 283 hotspots in Chiang Mai and 284 in Mae Hong Son.

The air quality monitoring stations, operated by the Department of Pollution Control, at Chang Phuek, Si Phum and Suthep sub-districts in Muang district; Chang Khoeng sub-district in Mae Chaem district; Na sub-district in Chiang Dao district and Hang Dong sub-district in Hot district show average PM2.5 readings in the past 24 hours of 100.7µg/m³, 99.8µg/m³, 117.8µg/m³, 82.7µg/m³, 216.8µg/m³ and 90.5µg/m³ respectively, against the threshold level of 37.5µg/m³.

AQI readings are 226, 225, 243, 208, 342 and 216 respectively.