Trees May have Caused Sudden Rise in Pollution Levels, NARIT says

 | Fri 15 Feb 2019 17:36 ICT

CityNews – The increase in air pollution in Chiang Mai may have been caused by trees, The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand says.

The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) has announced that the institute is now studying the causes of the air pollution in Chiang Mai. The project is also developing an air quality forecaster. Vanisa Surapipith, PhD, an atmospheric scientist stated that the rise of the haze since February 12th may not have been caused solely by human activity. “The mechanism is that trees will release hydrocarbon when the humidity, light and temperatures are all at the right levels. The hydrocarbon such as isoprene, monoterpenes etc. will react to the nitric oxide and UV in the earth’s atmosphere turning them into micro airbone particles and ozone, and coagulate into dust,” stated Dr. Vanisa in NARIT report. This occurs with the high pressure in the dry season and the geography of Chiang Mai that is a valley.

Between February 19th and 21st NARIT will be holding an academic seminar with guests from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and The University of California, Irvine (UCI) who will be sharing knowledge on air pollution. The seminar will be held at Kantary Hills Hotel.