Thailand: tens of thousands hospitalized because of smog

For days, smog has covered large parts of Thailand. This affects the health of the population. Since the beginning of the week, almost 200,000 people have had to be hospitalized because of the effects of air pollution.

Air pollution in some areas of Thailand has been severe for days. The effects are also reflected in the number of patients in hospitals. This week alone, around 200,000 people have already been admitted to clinics because of the health consequences of the smog. The Thai Ministry of Health published the figures.

As the newspaper “Bangkok Post” reported, citing Grandpa Karnkawinpong, Secretary of State for Public Health, more patients related to the smog have been admitted to hospitals since the beginning of the week than in the entire past week. There were more than 161,800 people there.

In the period between January 1st and March 5th, around 1.32 million cases were diagnosed nationwide in which air pollution had led to health damage. In more than 583,230 of these cases, respiratory diseases were found, the newspaper report said.

Provinces in the north of the country are particularly affected

15 provinces in the north of the country are particularly affected by the massive air pollution, including the city of Chiang Mai, which is popular with tourists. The city was listed by the air monitoring service IQAir on Thursday as the city with the world’s third worst air pollution.

In the affected provinces, high concentrations of PM2.5 particulate matter, which is considered particularly hazardous to health, were measured, as the Bangkok Post further reported. These are so small that they penetrate the human bloodstream and deep into the lungs. Emergency medical services have been set up in all areas.

People at risk should stay at home

In Thailand’s capital Bangkok, too, the fine dust levels have been exceeding the limit values ​​recommended by the World Health Organization for days. The Ministry of Health therefore called on children, pregnant women, elderly residents and people suffering from respiratory or heart problems to stay in their houses or apartments if possible. Anyone leaving the house should wear a protective mask.

In the metropolis, which is home to around eleven million people, checkpoints have been set up to pull vehicles with particularly high exhaust emissions off the road. So-called dust-free zones have been set up in day-care centers: These rooms are equipped with air purifiers. Such air purifiers were mostly sold out in Bangkok for private use.

The authorities in the Thai capital had already taken measures against high air pollution at the end of January and early February and asked professionals to work from home if possible, as the AAFP news agency reported. A spokesman for Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt announced similar steps should the situation deteriorate further.

Slash-and-burn probably the main cause

According to the dpa news agency, the main cause of the massive air pollution is slash and burn: Farmers burn their fields at the end of the dry season to rid them of weeds, for example. Farmers in neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar also use this method.

Between January and March, therefore, there are often high levels of particulate matter. In metropolises like Bangkok, exhaust gases emitted by vehicles or industrial plants also play a role.