Envi Link drives Chiang Mai’s data-based clean air revolution

Chiang Mai has long struggled with severe PM2.5 air pollution due to its valley-like terrain, widespread agricultural burning, dense traffic, and smoke drifting from neighbouring countries. 

However, 2025 marks a turning point as data-driven collaboration begins to yield results.

The Big Data Institute (BDI) is spearheading the development of “Envi Link”, a national environmental data platform integrating and analysing datasets from over 30 agencies — more than 200 data sources in total. 

Chiang Mai has been chosen as the pilot province for this initiative, serving as a model for data-driven environmental governance to improve air quality, public health, and sustainability in the long term.

Envi Link gives officials real-time insights

Siwakorn Buapong, Chiang Mai’s deputy governor, said the province has faced ongoing air pollution challenges for years, and the arrival of a unified data system like Envi Link marks a significant shift in environmental management.

The platform provides deeper, more accurate insights for assessing situations, planning responses, and implementing timely measures, he said. Using data dashboards, local administrators can now monitor real-time conditions, analyse pollution trends, and evaluate the impact of interventions systematically through data-driven decision-making.

He added that the number of hotspot burning points this year fell by more than 60% to about 4,000, compared to over 10,000 in previous years. PM2.5 levels also dropped by more than 60%, with only 60 days exceeding the national standard of 37.5 micrograms per cubic metre. 

The number of patients seeking medical treatment due to air pollution has also decreased significantly.

Siwakorn emphasised that the partnership between Chiang Mai and BDI is not only about using technology to combat haze, but also about creating a “clean air city model” where the government, private sector, academia, and the public can access the same data to jointly monitor and prevent pollution.

He stressed the importance of effective communication, ensuring that all communities — including ethnic groups and foreigners — are informed and involved in local environmental management.

“We believe this platform will become an essential tool for managing pollution and environmental operations, where data will drive every decision and strengthen collaboration across all sectors,” Siwakorn concluded.

A unified environmental intelligence platform

Tiranee Achalakul, director of the BDI, said the institute is committed to using the power of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as key mechanisms for driving Thailand’s economic, social, and environmental transformation.

She emphasised that environmental management — as the foundation of quality of life and national sustainability — stands at the heart of this effort.

Connecting over 200 datasets through the Envi Link platform represents a major step toward creating a national environmental data hub that links government agencies, researchers, businesses, and local communities.

This integration enables policymakers to make more precise, targeted, and evidence-based decisions.

Tiranee explained that Envi Link serves as a comprehensive, data-integration platform for sustainable environmental management. It combines multi-dimensional datasets, including PM2.5 levels, hotspot data, burn areas, fire-use permit records (Fire-D system), and air pollution–related health statistics.

The platform also aggregates information from real-time air quality sensors operated by various agencies, giving decision-makers access to up-to-date, interconnected environmental data. This supports timely responses and accurate management of pollution.

The platform is being further developed as the central data backbone supporting national PM2.5 reduction efforts, in line with the recommendations of the working committee on air pollution data platform development.

In the next phase, BDI plans to collaborate with local researchers to expand Envi Link’s reach to eight upper northern provinces, building a regional environmental data network. This system will help formulate area-based policies, strengthen wildfire management, and support long-term PM2.5 reduction strategies.

The project, supported by several key partners, also includes the development of an Environmental Data Catalogue, enabling transparent, systematic collection and analysis of environmental information to guide sustainable urban development and policymaking.

The Envi Link platform offers more than 15 analytical dashboards, such as:

• Provincial PM2.5 management indicators, combining data on hotspots, burn areas, days exceeding pollution limits, and pollution-related health cases.
   
• Fire-D vs. burn-area comparison dashboards, analysing correlations between authorised fire-use zones and actual burning patterns.
   
• Real-time air quality dashboards aggregating data from multiple sources including RGUARD, DustBoy, Air4Thai, DPM Alert, and Check Dust, allowing the public to monitor conditions closely and understand pollution patterns in their local areas.

BDI also aims to use Envi Link’s data analytics to support wider research and policy applications, such as tracking burn areas by crop type using satellite imagery and identifying high-potential zones for crop transformation to reduce burning while increasing farmers’ income.

“The work in Chiang Mai is not just the beginning of environmental data integration,” Tiranee concluded, “but also a major step in advancing Thailand’s smart environment initiative under the government’s smart city policy, turning data into a tool for sustainable policy design, natural resource management, and improved quality of life for all.”