CityNews – The 3rd Army visited Chiang Mai for meeting on the afternoon of March 19th.
Lieutenant General Sathit Pittharat of the 3rd Army and team visited Wing 41 Military Airport for a meeting with Chiang Mai authorities and representatives of institutes involved to follow up and discuss solutions for the smog and wildfire problems in nine provinces of the north after the dust level reached the highest levels of the year.
According to Lieutenant General Sathit, apart from Chiang Rai, other provinces’ air quality have improved and the dust levels (PM10 in size) were lower than 200 micrograms per cubic metre, though this level still affects resident’s health.
He also thanked the Republic of Singapore’s Air Force who sent two Chinook helicopters to support the extinguishing of wildfire in hotspots in forests, which are not accessible by land.
The militaries also deployed their fire fighting efforts in Mae Wang and Samoeng districts.
General Sathit thinks when the deployments are operated both on the ground and in the air, it might help the situations of smog and wildfire get better respectively, he says.
He also raised concern about residents’ way of life and wanted officials—local authorities, police, militaries, and other involved – to keep cooperating to prevent residents from burning while they hunt and forage in the forests, including burning fields for agriculture, or any activities that will cause wildfire.
The evidence from two satellites detecting hotspots have guaranteed the success of the deployments, he claims. Earlier the number of hotspots in nine provinces of the north was 381, affecting the current problems of smog. Yet last Wednesday, (March 18), at around 6pm, two satellites detected only 39 hotspots, added General Sathit.
Airplanes have been sent up to the sky to make artificial rain eight times per day. Requests have also been made to Burmese authorities regarding their efforts in fighting burning.
General Sathit thought this would also help reducing the current problems in the country.
It was also reported that two Chinook helicopters with 50 militaries from the Republic of Singapore Air Force and other 12 aircrafts of Thai Air Force and other institutes have made great strides in combatting the haze.