Air pollution levels have risen this week in Bangkok as farmers begin burning waste crops. The toxic smog – combined with low levels of rain and wind in the atmosphere – has lead to a thick haze covering the capital city.
Thailand’s Centre for Air Pollution Mitigation (CAPM) said the smog would blanket Bangkok all week. Levels of harmful PM 2.5 particles in the air have exceeded the safe threshold all week.
CAPM spokesman Siwat Pongpaichan said: ”Sugar prices are lucrative at the moment so farmers are rushing to harvest their crop by burning to save cutting costs.
”We expect to see unhealthy levels of PM2.5 across the capital and surrounding provinces for at least three days.”
Despite laws introduced banning the process, farmers are reluctant to stop the ‘slash and burn’ process or burning waste sugarcane husks to clear the land.
Looks like this will be a familiar scene for the next few months….
