February 16, 2024
BANGKOK – Bangkokians experienced good air quality for a paltry 31 days in 2023, according to a study by Rocket Media Lab, which collected data from the World Air Quality Index over the past year.
The independent database analyst said the number of “good air days”, represented in green, dropped 8.52% from the previous year, when city dwellers could breathe fresh air on 49 days.
Rocket Media Lab said air quality in Bangkok was classified as yellow, or of moderate quality, on 241 days in 2023, or 66.21% of the whole year, representing a decrease of 20 days over 2022, when it stood at 261 days.
On 78 days, air quality in Bangkok was classified as orange, meaning it was starting to affect the health of sensitive groups. This was 21.43% higher than in 2022, when the tally was 52 days.
Air quality in Bangkok reached the dangerous or red level on 14 days in 2023, 3.85% of the whole year, an increase of 3 days over the previous year.
Rocket Media Lab cited April as having the most bad air days in 2023, as well as in 2022. The monthly average PM2.5 level in April was 115.47 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³), well above Thailand’s safety standard of 37.5 µg/m³ for 24-hour average.
PM2.5 refers to dust particles 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter, long-term exposure to which is linked with chronic diseases including lung and heart problems.
Rocket Media Lab said the average PM2.5 level in Bangkok last year had an health impact equivalent to smoking 1,370 cigarettes per year.
The number was based on a calculation model introduced by American researcher Richard A. Muller at Berkeley Earth Institute, who found that the health impact of PM2.5 of 22 µg/m³ is equivalent to smoking a cigarette.
With air pollution in Bangkok and several provinces on the rise, both the public and private sectors are racing to identify measures to tackle the sources of pollution, which include forest fires, outdoor burning, traffic and industrial emissions.
The Cabinet last month gave preliminary approval to the Clean Air Bill proposed by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. This move has raised hopes for a more comprehensive and long-term solution to Thailand’s scourge of air pollution.