Close 437 schools due to air pollution

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

City Hall has ordered about 20,000 personnel to start work at 10am instead of 8am and suspended classes at its 437 schools on Wednesday in its fight against unhealthy smog levels.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) came up with four urgent measures to deal with the hazardous ultra-fine dust levels in the air in the capital, said spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang.

The measures are the introduction of staggered working hours of 20,000 BMA personnel at City Hall in Sao Chingcha area and the BMA City Hall Tower 2 in Din Daeng, suspension of classes at all 437 BMA-run schools, distribution of face masks and campaigns to promote their use, said Pol Capt Pongsakorn.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1840579/city-hall-orders-staggered-hours-in-fight-against-smog

[Guest]

The government us barking mad.   Do they think all these kids are sat at their desks causing PM 2.5 emissions ?

A raft of sensible measures are needed and this is not one of them.

Instead, try:

Taxing diesel.  Increase tax hy 2 baht per litre every year.

Having mandatory emissions tests and take any vehicles which are not up to scratch off the road.

Charge vehicles for using the roads in Bangkok

Improve public transport.  Since the Thais have no clue how to do it, import some expertise from Japan.

Start making roads pedestrian only.   Also close lanes and widen the pedestrian walkways. 

Remove the crazy tax perks for pickups.

Jail anyone who burns their sugar cane crop.

And many others.....

[joshhb]

Seems to be getting less bad - in time for my arrival on Monday

http://aqicn.org/city/bangkok/

I think the biggest culprits are 1. Badly-maintained diesel trucks / buses. 2. Crop burning. Last year Indonesian fires caused a huge blanket of smog all the way to KL. Chiang Rai was also very badly affected by northern crop burning

Solutions: 1. Aggressive roadside checks and immediate impounding of failing vehicles. 2. Subsidize Happy Seeder and other technologies that deliver the nutritional benefits of burning, without the smoke.

[reader]

4 hours ago, z909 said:

The government us barking mad.   Do they think all these kids are sat at their desks causing PM 2.5 emissions ?

The idea is to keep the children out of the transportation network where they are less likely to be exposed to pollution.

4 hours ago, z909 said:

Improve public transport.  Since the Thais have no clue how to do it, import some expertise from Japan.

Bangkok has steadily expanded its BTS and MRT networks to the point you can get to many destinations around the city. It was done, I understand, with German engineering and technology. The stations and equipment are among the cleanest and best maintained I've seen.

There's buses if you take some time to become familiar with the route system. And there's the river and canal boat systems well used by locals and tourists alike.

I have no trouble getting around the city.

[anddy]

Well, such measures are typical and just show some (useless) "action", while achieving absolutely ZERO. As it happens, vehicle traffic, even the ancient buses with their gigantic diesel fume clouds behind them (I know them all too well from riding my motorbike) have (almost) NOTHING to do with the pm2.5 pollution. It all comes from burning crops such as sugarcane. As there are thousands upon thousands of such fires, it is obviously very difficult to deal with, so they just revert to the easy and useless "fixes" until the problem goes away by itself in a month or two. 

It cannot possibly be vehicle traffic as the smog ONLY occurs during the winter months, which happens to be field burning season. If it were vehicles, it would occur outside this season every once i a while depending on weather conditions.

Find an outstandingly thorough analysis from 2018 based on hard data here:

part 1: https://towardsdatascience.com/identifying-the-sources-of-winter-air-pollution-in-bangkok-part-i-d4392ea608dc
part 2: https://towardsdatascience.com/identifying-the-sources-of-winter-air-pollution-in-bangkok-part-ii-72539f9b767a

 

[spoon]

Malaysia gov usually close school during very bad haze as well, and its mainly because many of our school are non-airconditioned, with windows not sealed and kept open for ventilation. So, for these children attending such school, its as if they stay outside the whole time in such a bad air condition. Thus to protect the children, gov close the school. But it is futile if they live in houses that is not airconditioned with sealed entrance and prorer filter and ventilation as they will be subjected to bad air at home too, but of course, the gov is not responsible for that, but they are responsible for the school. This measure is definitely just a short term reaction towards the air polution rather than a solution. Similar to an evacuation due to forest fire etc.

[DivineMadman]

50 minutes ago, anddy said:

Well, such measures are typical and just show some (useless) "action", while achieving absolutely ZERO. As it happens, vehicle traffic, even the ancient buses with their gigantic diesel fume clouds behind them (I know them all too well from riding my motorbike) have (almost) NOTHING to do with the pm2.5 pollution.

 

I'm not sure that it's correct to say vehicles have almost nothing to do with the problem.  Virtually all sources that I just looked at list vehicle emissions as a source -usually the first in the list - and even the article cited says "The major sources of PM2.5 particles are exhaust from car engines, power plants, and agricultural waste burning."   When it comes to cars etc in part 2 she says, well, gee, the data seems noisy.  

I AM NOT DENYING FOR A MINUTE THAT THE CROP BURNING IS A MAJOR SOURCE DURING THE WINTER, which coupled with the weather pattern helps give us the sad state we are in.  But cars etc. are still a major source.  

One easy way to think about it is look a the data for months when we know there isn't crop burning.  Here's a link that (down the page) lays out some historical data.  https://aqicn.org/city/bangkok. In June-July-August there are days when the 2.5 measurement is 60-70-++++.  Now today we have days that are in the 130's 140's and some of that is clearly attributable to the weather pattern (buildup) and some is 100% attributable to the crop burning.  But if the total is 140  (terrible) and it's 70 on a day in the rainy season, even if the extra 70 difference today is all because of the crop burning it doesn't mean only the crop burning is the problem.  Everything that goes into the total is a problem.   (If A+B=140, A is part of the problem, not just B)

More sources that list vehicle emissions as a source of 2.5:  https://laqm.defra.gov.uk/public-health/pm25.html, https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/particulars-pm-25, & https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18258301 (" the first long-term attempt to concurrently measure and identify major sources of both PM(10) and PM(2.5) in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR)")

[reader]

1 hour ago, anddy said:

As it happens, vehicle traffic, even the ancient buses with their gigantic diesel fume clouds behind them (I know them all too well from riding my motorbike) have (almost) NOTHING to do with the pm2.5 pollution.

The following is a quote from Part 1 of the link cited above:

"What caused the high levels of air pollution in Bangkok last winter? The major sources of PM2.5 particles are exhaust from car engines, power plants, and agricultural waste burning, which lead to a number of theories - stagnant air flow, old diesel cars, coal power plants, and agricultural burning from neighboring provinces."

Part 1 of the reports offers some advice for tourists:

"On average tourists should avoid Bangkok between late October and early April. You may be thinking, “But that’s when I have my holiday! Where else I can go?” May I suggest Phuket or Samui Island? The south of Thailand has low AQI all year long, as you can see in the map below."

That's about half the year so not very helpful for ex-pats and those tourists coming specifically to Bangkok.

Part 2 of the author's report provides strong evidence that the burning of agricultural products around Southeast Asia contribute mightily to the seasonal problem. There's also an informative discussion of the effects weather inversions, wind and humidity exert on conditions.

However, vehicle missions (as Anddy describes first hand from his motorbike) do indeed acerbate the problem. It's among the reasons that London penalizes drivers who enter the city center.

 

 

 

[anddy]

of course the study author does mention cars, but the further analysis goes to show that the MAJOR high and unhealthy pm2.5 levels were caused by the burning. Of course @DivineMadman is correct in saying if A+B=140 then A (as in Autos) is part of the problem, not just B (as in Burning). But if A is just 10, who cares? I.e. in the absence of B there would still be SOME pm2.5 particles, but they wouldn't cause that visible thick and fog-like haze we see, and nobody would really care. Well, I wouldn't.... except when riding directly behind a bus lol (I solve that by holding my breath and getting pst the bus ASAP)

[reader]

1 hour ago, anddy said:

of course the study author does mention cars...

Of course she does:

"What caused the high levels of air pollution in Bangkok last winter? The major sources of PM2.5 particles are exhaust from car engines, power plants, and agricultural waste burning, which lead to a number of theories - stagnant air flow, old diesel cars, coal power plants, and agricultural burning from neighboring provinces."

The again, I could be talking about "cars" and you could be talking about, well..... "cars".

It's the crap that you can't see--like colorless, odorless and tasteless carbon monoxide--that is among the more dangerous emissions.

[DivineMadman]

6 hours ago, anddy said:

 But if A is just 10, who cares?

the point I was trying to make by directing attention to the pm 2.5 levels during even the "good" months is that it's not "just 10".  

It is safe to say that in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S., there is absolutely no crop burning.  But there are several highways.  pm 2.5 level now is 90.  

I think the statement that automobiles, trucks, motorbikes, etc. contribute "almost nothing" is not correct.  That's all.  

 

[TotallyOz]

Yes, very bad recently. I bought a great air purifier and I have my Air Cons cleaned monthly.  The solution, invite boys over to your apartment. My AQI is 10. The smell of dick abounds and no crop smell or auto smell (except for the mechanic I met on Hornet).

[Guest]

Vehicles are known to emit PM2.5 particles, which is why European diesel engines have particle filters and petrol engines will get them shortly.   

Many cities in Europe discourage car use and promote public transport and walking.  Thailand does none of this and has urban planning designed to discourage walking.

I read that over 70% of the pm2.5 pollution in Bangkok is from vehicles.

 

Incidentally, the UK also banned crop burning decades ago.  

 

Good to see that Michael bought an air purifier. Most people just talk about problems, without doing anything.

Buying a filter is exactly what I would do if living permanently in a polluted area. Even travelling I might have to look into the very compact devices.  There the key question is are they effective or are they the kind of shoddy fraud that sometimes comes out of China?

 

 

[reader]

NOTE -- It's clear to me that all posters who contributed to this thread have strong views about the environment and how it affects those who live in an visit our favorite city. We may come at the issue from different angles but all make valid points. I think the following article illustrates the need to arrive at workable solutions to air pollution.

From Bangkok Post

PM2.5 clogs Bangkok marathon decision

Air pollution in Bangkok has stymied Thailand's dream of becoming the marathon capital of Asia, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) determining this weekend if the Amazing Thailand Marathon Bangkok 2020 (ATMBKK) has to be cancelled.

The 3rd edition of the marathon, sponsored by the government, is set for Feb 2.

Of the 28,000 people registered for this race, 20% are foreign participants, said Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

"If the air pollution is at an unhealthy level and harmful to runners, we don't have a choice -- we must cancel this event. Hopefully, we can still keep going like last time," said Mr Phiphat, referring to the 2019 edition of the race, also haunted by poor air quality.

As a co-host, the agency is monitoring the pollution level on a daily basis and will follow the Public Health Ministry's instruction on whether to withdraw this year's event, said TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn.

However, if the event continues with the same schedule, all necessary preparations are already in place.

The agency is seeking cooperation from stakeholders such as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to ask construction sites along the running route to stop working three days before the race.

The road will be cleaned thoroughly to wash away the dust.

More water stops will be available to runners, as well as increased misting fans to clear the toxic miasma.

Mr Yuthasak said the decision must be made this weekend as 6,000-7,000 foreigners have to plan their trips in advance.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1842349/pm2-5-clogs-bangkok-marathon-decision#cxrecs_s

[Guest]

Thailand currently seems to specialize in either doing nothing or engaging in the most Mickey Mouse of solutions to the pollution problem.

As an example, look at this water mister in Chiang Mai.   The only way that would help pollution to any significant extent would be if it were moved into the road to prevent vehicle access.  This is in a city with no effective bus service and loads of ancient baht buses cruising around, empty about half the time.   Lots of low hanging fruit to go after if they want real solutions.