Around 200 schools were closed in Bangkok on Thursday due to high levels of air pollution. Residents were asked to work from home and vehicles were restricted in some areas of the city.
On Thursday, the concentration of PM 2.5 in Bangkok reached 122 micrograms per cubic meter, eight times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) daily limit. The Thai capital was ranked sixth among the world’s most polluted cities on Thursday, according to a ranking published by IQAir, a Swiss organization that monitors air conditions.
Due to the extremely high concentration of smoke, the authorities introduced safety measures. 194 out of 437 schools under Bangkok Municipal Government were closed. This is the highest number of schools in Thailand’s capital to be closed since 2020.
Recommendations for remote work
Bangkok residents have been asked to work from home if possible. However, the telecommuting program, which companies can voluntarily join, covers only 100,000 of the city’s 10 million residents, AFP reports.
Traffic has been restricted in some areas of the city until Friday.
Bangkok misery smogiemPAP/EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
In Thailand and many other Southeast Asian countries, farmers burn hay during the winter, and low temperatures and weak winds keep pollution levels high in cities.
According to IQAir’s rating on Thursday, the world’s ten cities with the most polluted air included three Chinese agglomerations, two Indian agglomerations and one each from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Egypt and Uganda.
Bangkok misery smogiemPAP/EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
