Drop in Bangkok's air quality, 27th worst among world cities
Bangkok's air quality has seen a deterioration which can affect sensitive groups, the latest readings show.
The Air Visual application reported on Sunday that Bangkok’s air pollution level according to the US Air Quality Index (AQI) standard stood at 112, with the level of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrograms in diameter (PM2.5) at 41mcg per cubic metre (µg/m3), placing it at 27th on the list of cities with the worst air in the world.
AQI is a standard that indicates the quality of air and level of pollution. Level 0-50 means good air quality, 51-100 is moderate quality, 101-105 will start affecting sensitive groups, 151-200 is slightly harmful to health, 201-300 is highly harmful and 301-500 is extremely dangerous.
Meanwhile, the Pollution Control Department reported that air quality in Bangkok and its perimeter is currently fluctuating between very good to moderate with PM2.5 at around 17-48 µg/m3 detected by 69 air quality stations.
The Thai safety limit for PM2.5 is 50mcg per cubic metre of air while the safety limit for AQI is 100.
As of Sunday, the five cities with the worst air quality were: 1. Delhi, India 363; 2. Lahore, Pakistan 261; 3. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 191; 4. Zagreb, Croatia 185; 5. Wrocław, Poland 183.
The cities with the best air quality were: 1. Canberra, Australia 0; 2. Sydney, Australia 2; 3. Salt Lake City, US 2; 4. Skopje, North Macedonia 5; 5. Moscow, Russia.