The fine dust pollution exceeded the safe threshold in 45 of the 50 districts in Bangkok, Thai Pollution Control Department said in a statement on Thursday
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) The fine dust pollution exceeded the safe threshold in 45 of the 50 districts in Bangkok, Thai Pollution Control Department said in a statement on Thursday.
The upper safety limit of fine particulate matter in the Thai capital is considered 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air. On Thursday, it reached 51-81 micrograms per cubic meter in most Bangkok areas, the statement said. According to the pollution control department, the safe level of dust particles is maintained only in five districts in the southern part of the city, while the most polluted air was registered on the northern and eastern outskirts of Bangkok.
The government recommends that residents of the most polluted areas spend more time indoors and use gauze masks or respirators when outside.
Bangkok, a megalopolis with a population of more than eight million people, is usually protected by winds blowing from the Gulf of Thailand near the southern outskirts of the city.
There are many sources of fine dust pollution in Bangkok, the main ones being construction sites, industrial plants located within the city, as well as diesel engines installed on vehicles, including old cars, buses and diesel locomotives of the Thai railways, the lines of which pass through the city center. Diesel exhaust is the main component of the microparticles that pollute Bangkok's air.
Periods of increased air pollution in Bangkok are usually associated with the absence of winds blowing from the sea.
