Officials on alert for haze in the North 

Amid threats to the health of people and the economy from the smog, the Public Health Ministry is now on alert as local residents in many northern provinces have reported seeing air pollution in their hometowns.
To date, levels of small dust particles have not exceeded safe limits but the ministry has started making preparations. Its Disease Control Department has instructed the Office of Disease Prevention and Control 1 in Chiang Mai province to prepare a Surveillance and Rapid Response Team so that immediate medical help could be made available to local residents as soon as the haze threat rises.
Department director-general Dr Jessada Chokdamrongsuk Sunday said people most at risk were small children, the elderly, pregnant women and people suffering from chronic diseases such as heart disease, asthma or allergies.