The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has sought help from the Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation Department by conducting cloud seeding to ease air pollution in the capital.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said today that not only Bangkok, but other parts of the country are experiencing high levels of PM2.5 airborne pollution, mainly due to poor air circulation, forest fires and burning of farm waste around Bangkok.
He expects the air pollution decrease next week.
The governor said that he is still seeking cooperation from motorists in Bangkok by joining the ‘Green List’ system, introduced by the BMA to encourage motorists to have their car engines checked to reduce emissions, adding that only 160,000 cars have joined the program, which is far short of the target of 500,000.
He said the city’s administration continues to tighten controls on dust at construction sites and hotspots in and around the city. He added, however, that the air pollution has not yet reached a level that would justify the imposition of ban on trucks entering the capital.
Regarding the BMA’s dust-free classroom project, Chadchart said that a prototype model of the classroom is now ready and the administration will build 1,743 dust-free classrooms as soon as possible with the budget already allocated.
Meanwhile, Ekwaranyu Amrapala, BMA spokesman, advised people in Bangkok to wear face masks and to limit their time outdoors to avoid unnecessary exposure to PM2.5 air pollution.
He also suggested that, if people develop a cough, have difficulty breathing or suffer eye irritation, they see a doctor, adding that the BMA has air pollution clinics at its eight hospitals.
A fire was reported yesterday in a forest reserve in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima. Latest reports say that it is not yet under control and is expected to spread to the lowlands close to a resort today.
