CityNews – Mongkol Suksai, Chiang Mai Vice-Governor discussed the smog and wildfire resolution with relevant departments on 28 March.
The smog situation in Chiang Mai remains approximately the same, PM 10 over the health standard for almost a week. Compared to last year, the smog situation is better. Last year, there was a 60-day “hotspot” that cumulated 1,882 points, but so far this year there have only been 558 points accumulated. The Vice-Governor said that there have been 10 days this year that the PM 10 level is over 120 ug/m3 compared to last year in which there were 17 days that the PM 10 level was over 120 ug/m3. Chiang Mai Provincial Public Health reported 4 common diseases of patients: heart disease and stroke, respiratory disease, eye inflammation, and Dermatitis during 1- 27 March. There have been approximately 43,382 patients in Chiang Mai during this time, and a portion of these patient’s cases may be related to the smog. Although, the causation between smog PM 10 over standard and patients’ diseases is still not confirmed.