Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ol-cha has ordered the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pollution Control Department to urgently tackle the dust particle pollution problem in Bangkok which has exceeded standard level, government spokesman Putthipong Punnakan said Saturday.

He said the prime minister was very concerned with the health of the people in Bangkok after it was discovered that the dust particulate in the city has exceeded safety level.

He added that the prime minister wanted the two agencies to come up with both short-term and long-term measures to deal with the air pollution problem in the city.

In the last couple of days, Bangkok appeared to be blanketed in haze as a result of the high density of dust particles in the air.  More people were seen wearing face masks on the streets and on public transport.

It was reported that the city administration had instructed all 50 district offices to conduct a clean-up of roads by water-spraying roads with heavy traffic and to impose restrictions on the burning of garbage.  The city administration expected the situation to return to normal in the next few days.

Putthipong said the prime minister had suggested the people to keep themselves updated with the air quality situation and do not panic and can wear face masks when they are out-door if they so wish.