The air quality in and around Bangkok over the past 24 hours has remained well within standards, with the level of PM2.5 dust particles in all areas being measured at between 13-39 microns against the standard level of 50 microns.
The BMA’s coordinating centre in charge of resolving the smog problem in Bangkok also predicts that air quality tomorrow will continue to improve.
Of all the 50 districts in Bangkok, 35 are categorized as “Level Blue” for having the least amount of PM2.5 dust particles, 14 are at “Level Green” for having a lower amount of the PM2.5 and one district is at “Lev el Yellow” with more PM2.5 but at a level below the standard.
The city administration attributed the improved air quality to all the efforts undertaken by relevant agencies to ease the smog problem on daily basis, ranging from road cleaning, water spraying into the atmosphere, installation of water sprinkling systems at more than 432 municipal schools, bans on the burning of trash and vegetation to the control of smoke-belching vehicles.
Furthermore, the health office of the City Hall has been providing free health services to people and offering advice on how to protect against the smog problem and how to wear face masks properly.
Meanwhile, a Nida Poll by the National Institute of Development Administration reports that 70.98% of the respondents admitted that they had done their part to ease the smog problem, with 31.37% claiming that they sprayed water on dusty areas in and around their houses. Additionally, 30.5% claim they had stopped burning trash and 23.32% say that they had switched to public transport instead of using their private cars.
The poll also shows 87.28% of the respondents protected themselves against the smog by wearing face masks while others said they tried to avoid going out-doors.
64.15% of the respondents said fixing the he smog problem should be treated as an urgent matter
As for the measures to tackle the smog problem, 45.12% suggested suspension of construction works in affected areas while 20.3% percent suggested that diesel-powered vehicles should be banned from the city’s streets temporarily.
The Nida Poll gauged the opinions of 1,261 people in and around Bangkok on February 5th and 6th.
