FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

MPs told to visit haze areas

MPs told to visit haze areas

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday ordered Cabinet members to visit haze-hit areas and fully tend to their residents' needs.

 

“We are taking care of people’s health,” Deputy Public Health Minister Dr Surawit Khonsomboon said yesterday after a Cabinet meeting. 
 
He said the number of patients with haze-related problems in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district had jumped fivefold.
 
“The number of asthma patients, patients with respiratory disorders, and patients with affected eyesight or eyes has risen to 14,000, 13,000 and 1,400 respectively,” Surawit said. 
 
 The amount of small dust particles – those in the range of PM10 – has soared above safe levels for weeks in the North. According to the Pollution Control Department (PCD), each cubic metre of air should contain no more than 120 micrograms of PM10 matter for safety reasons.
 
The amount soared above 300 micrograms in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, causing grave concern among authorities.
 
However, despite haze problems in their hometowns, not a single northern resident had evacuated to government-provided shelters, according to Surawit. 
 
“The shelters are located in meeting halls and air-conditioned halls,” Surawit said. “Nobody has shown up there, though. Perhaps it’s because they think the shelter won’t help them much.”
 
BREATHING EASIER IN CHIANG MAI
The PCD reported the haze problem in Chiang Rai eased with the amount of small dust particles dropping to 180.3 micrograms per cubic metre of air in Mae Sai district yesterday – a drop from 258.8 micrograms a day earlier.
 
However, the amount of small dust particles in other affected provinces – Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Phrae, Nan and Mae Hong Son – has risen. 
 
PCD has advised people to stay indoors, or to wear masks if they must go outdoors. 
 
Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said Their Majesties the King and Queen were concerned about the problem, which had clearly affected tourism and people’s quality of life. 
 
A flight to Songkhla’s Hat Yai Airport was delayed by one to two hours as thick fog covered the district yesterday morning. 
 
“It’s the result of humidity,” Southern Meteorological Centre (East Coast) director Wanchai Sak-udomchai said.
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