The air in Thailand stinks to high heaven – and literally: parts of the kingdom have been groaning under a dark bell of toxic smog for weeks. The cause of the phenomenon is well known: slash and burn. But this year the situation is so bad that it is also making international headlines.
The north with the tourist stronghold Chiang Mai, the backpacker paradise Pai and Chiang Rai near the Golden Triangle is particularly affected. But the pulsating capital Bangkok is also experiencing particulate matter levels that are harmful to health with every breath you take.
Not good news for the important tourism industry, which had only just started to fly again after the corona pandemic. “‘Take a trip to toxic Thailand.’ Hmmm, despite the smart alliteration, the phrase is unlikely to catch on as a tourism slogan,” the South China Morning Post newspaper quipped in a recent comment. The “land of smiles” has turned into a “land of grimaces”.
Highest air pollution in the world
The temple city of Chiang Mai, known as the “Rose of the North” and one of the country’s most beautiful flagships, has consistently ranked first on the list of cities with the highest air pollution in the world for days. The fine dust levels are sometimes highlighted in red (“unhealthy”) , these are the better hours. The values are usually marked in purple or even brown. That means: “extremely unhealthy” or even “dangerous”. The provincial governor has already asked people to work from home “and wear protective masks if you have to leave the house after all”.
A German living in Bangkok recently sent holiday greetings from Chiang Mai: “I can’t even see the mountain right outside my hotel window in the morning because of the smog.” The video of a car driving through Chiang Rai province, which a reporter from ThaiPBS broadcaster posted on social media, looks like a journey on the Highway to Hell. Appropriately, he wrote, “It’s a hell of dust and smoke.” To reassure everyone planning a trip to Thailand: On the islands further south, such as Ko Samui or Ko Chang, the air is quite good.
Scratchy necks, watery eyes
For many years, all citizens who can afford to flee from the north to more air-friendly regions further south at the beginning of the year. Because at the end of the dry season between January and April, the farmers around Chiang Mai and Co. burn down their sugar cane and rice fields – not only in Thailand, but also in the neighboring countries of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. The haze sometimes moves as far as Bangkok. In March, many complained of a sore throat and watery eyes for days.
There were also forest fires this year. Since it doesn’t rain and there is mostly no wind, the resulting layer of fine dust literally sticks in the air, immobile and threatening. “I think we have these four seasons now: summer, winter, rainy season and smog,” Chiang Mai taxi driver Pat told local media.
However, the values around the important Songkran holidays in April, which started this Thursday, were mostly back in the normal range. The fact that this is not the case this year is extremely bitter for hoteliers and tour operators. Already at the beginning of March he had seen a 50 percent drop in bookings, the news site “The Thaiger” quoted the owner of the tour operator Chiang Mai Tee Tours as saying. “I think tourists are becoming more and more aware of pollution.”
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of Thailand’s Tourism Agency TAT, recently said the smog is likely to cause 2 billion Thai baht (about 50 million euros) in financial damage to tourism in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and other popular spots in the region. But not only the tourism industry suffers, but above all health.
Reduced life expectancy by years
According to Rangsarit Kanchanawanit of Chiang Mai University Medical School, pollution increases the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke and shortens life expectancy by four to five years. 1,700 citizens of Chiang Mai have therefore already filed a class action lawsuit. They accuse Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and two authorities of not doing enough to stop the deforestation and not rigorously enforcing the applicable guidelines and rules.
“We want the government to change policy, show strong political will and not just be considerate of capitalist groups,” Kanchanawanit said. “That could save millions of people from disease.”
Richard Barrow, a well-known Thailand blogger, wanted to head to Chiang Mai anyway. Before leaving, he posted a photo of his luggage on Twitter: a portable air purifier and countless masks. He previously announced, “I’m taking the train to Chiang Mai for the Songkran holiday. But if the air quality is still ‘dangerous’, I guess I’ll just take the first train back.” It is amazing that the authorities have not yet declared a state of emergency given the situation.
