Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will discuss air pollution during tomorrow’s cabinet meeting, after chairing a video conference with governors of provinces affected by PM2.5 dust.
Jirayu Huangsap, spokesman for Prime Minister’s Office, said that the prime minister will discuss additional measures to cope with air pollution, after being briefed by ministers concerned about the air pollution mitigation assignments given to them earlier.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in his capacity as chief of the National Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Command, will hold discussions with Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Chantararuangthong to develop additional measures to address airborne pollution.
Jirayu said that the meeting tomorrow will focus on assessing the measures, undertaken since last October, to cope with wildfires in forests and on farmland, as well as additional measures to be adopted.
Farm fires are still reported in some provinces, such as Lop Buri, Chaiyaphum, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Sawan and Nakhon Ratchasima.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, a new measure has been in force since January 17th, under which farmers with a record of starting fires on their farms will be disqualified from joining the ministry’s farmer development and support programmes for two years.
Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said today that the ministry plans to distribute about eight million face masks (7.4 million surgical masks and about 600,000 N-95 masks) to the public, especially to vulnerable people, from tomorrow.
People living in Bangkok can breathe clean air today and tomorrow, thanks to a sudden change in wind direction, to strong north-easterly, which disperses the airborne PM2.5 dust.
The relief will, however, only be short-lived as the pollution will return on Wednesday, according to Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt.
Air quality in Bangkok improved significantly today. Only 38 districts are categorised as pollution Orange (unhealthy for sensitive groups) zones and there is not a single Red (unhealthy for all) zone.
Average PM2.5 level is 41µg/m³.
