Pollution levels rise beyond safe limit in Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Song and Lampang
As the level of potentially dangerous airborne particle matter in Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Song and Lampang provinces rose beyond the safe limit on Saturday morning, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD) contacted the nine northern provincial authorities to strictly forbid outdoor burning.
DPMD chief Chatchai Phromlert said on Saturday that he also asked the provinces to tackle forest fires by arranging more frequent patrols of forestland by fire-watch volunteers, strictly controlling farmlands and highway-side areas and asking for residents' cooperation to refrain from burning garbage and farm waste.
Chatchai said Chiang Mai's Mae Chaem district reported the PM10 level as of 5am at 131 micrograms per cubic metre followed by Mae Hong Son’s Muang district at 125 mcg and Lampang's Mae Mo district (Tambon Ban Dong) at 123 mcg.
According to the Pollution Control Department (PCD) website, the PM10 levels as of 9am at Mae Mo and Mae Chaem were both at 122 mcg, while the reading in Muang Mae Hong Son was 129 mcg.
A PM10 level exceeding 120mcg can affect people’s health.
