Air pollution in Chiang Mai (Thailand) ☼

The level of air pollution in Chiang Mai increasing

many residents in Chiang Mai have been affected by respiratory infections and 

other health problem,due to the air pollution.

Background information

          Chiang Mai (เชียงใหม่) is the largest and most culturally significant province in northern of Thailand. It is located 700 km. north from Bangkok (the capital city).

Thailand Map

Climate 

          Thailand  has a tropical wet and dry climate. There are three seasons in the country which are  summer (around March - May), rainy (June - September), winter (October - February) .

Air pollution in Chiang Mai

          In the period between March - the beginning of April , a continuing environmental problem facing Chiang Mai is the incidence of air pollution yearly. The city is often shrouded in smoke during this period leading up to the rainy season. The most terrible period air pollution in Chiang Mai was in 2009 which so many northern people were affected by smoke from burning-off undergrowth. The standard acceptable level of dust id 120 milligrams per cubic meter, while the particulate dust levels in the city have tested between 190 micrograms and 243 micrograms per cubic meter sometimes. There are some minor sources of particulate matter pollution is the prevalence of burning in the city, with cremations, burning garbage and vehicular emissions from poorly maintained diesel cars contributing. These minor causes is dust raised during building and excavations. 

The Majority Cause

          The main cause of air pollution in Chiang Mai is the age-old practice of burning-off undergrowth in forests in the mountainous regions, especially along the Thai-Myanmar border. This problem is exacerbated by the location of the city which is located in a natural geographic bowl surrounded by mountains. For several years, as Chiang Mai's air quality index has become more and more troublesome, in relation to the rest of the region, the recognition of the problem has been growing locally. Doctors in Chiang Mai have been noticing an increase in people coming to see them with upper respiratory difficulties. Chiang Mai has now enacted stringent regulation of emissions standards for all vehicles. Since 2008, police sometimes set up roadblocks to test exhaust emissions on the spot and officers will enact the law to ban offending vehicles as Chiang Mai continues to work actively towards a cleaner environment.

References

- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia., "Chiang Mai".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Mai