Air pollution in the Thai capital forced more than 350 schools to close on Friday, city officials said, the highest number in five years.
Bangkok officials also announced free public transportation for a week in an effort to reduce traffic in a city notorious for noxious exhaust fumes.
Seasonal air pollution has hit Thailand hard, as have many countries in the region, but this week’s hazy conditions have closed most schools since 2020.
“It’s hard to breathe … I really feel the burning in my throat,” vendor Benjawan Suknae, 61, told AFP.
“I think (closing schools) could help to some extent.”
The Bangkok Metropolitan Government said it had closed 352 schools in 31 districts due to air pollution.
More than 250 schools in Bangkok were closed on Thursday and officials urged people to work from home and limit heavy vehicles in the city.
Air pollution hits the Southeast Asian nation seasonally as colder, stagnant winter air mixes with smoke from crop burning and car fumes.
The level of PM2.5 pollutants—cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs—hit 108 micrograms per cubic meter by Friday, according to IQAIR.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 for most days of the year.
The reading makes the Thai capital today the seventh most polluted major city in the world.
By Friday morning, 352 of the 437 schools under the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) had closed their doors, affecting thousands of students.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered the ban on Thursday on stadium burning – deliberately burning crops to clear fields – with those responsible risking legal action.
In another effort to curb pollution, the SkyTrain, Metro, Light Rail System and bus services will be free for users for a week from Saturday, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit told reporters.
“We hope this policy will help reduce pollution,” he said.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, currently attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, called for tougher measures to tackle pollution on Thursday, including curbing construction in the capital and seeking cooperation from nearby countries.
City officials introduced a voluntary work-from-home plan for three days this week.
“I think there should be more awareness (from the BMA) and maybe a home-from-home policy would be better,” said freelancer Wisut Kitnarong, 59.
Regional problem
Cities in neighboring Vietnam and Cambodia also ranked high on Iqair’s most popular list on Friday, with Ho Chi Minh second and Phnom Penh fifth.
Cambodia’s environment ministry confirmed on Friday that air quality in Phnom Penh and three other provinces had reached a “red level”, meaning extremely polluted.
The ministry said in a statement that air pollution was caused by climate change, waste incineration and forest fires and urged the public to monitor their health and avoid outdoor activities.
Air pollution has closed schools in other parts of Asia recently – notably Pakistan and India.
Nearly two million students in and around New Delhi were told to stay home in November after authorities ordered schools to close due to worsening air pollution.
Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, closed schools in major cities for two weeks in November, with thousands of nurses, as air pollutants hit 30 times the level considered acceptable by the WHO.
Bangkok’s school closures come as UNICEF said in a report that 242 million children’s education was affected by climate disruptions in 2024.
a href=”https://tribune.com.pk/story/2524294/bangkok-shuts-over-350-schools-amid-worst-air-pollution-in-five-years”>Source link
