Haze covers Bangkok, the capital of Thailand on January 27. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) –More than 90% of the population in Thailand are living in poorer air conditionsthan the safety standard set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and this condition can shorten the average lifespan of Thais by 1.8 years, according to a report by Air Quality Life Index.
WHO stipulates that PM 2.5 does not exceed 50 micrograms per 1 cu.m of air is a safe level.
Air pollution, notably PM2.5fine dust, caused by the burning of plantations, especially sugarcane, affectsaround 44 million people in Thailand every year, the Industry Ministry reported, adding that long-term exposure to fine dust is linked with chronic diseases including lung and heart problems.
Thai farmers resort toburning their fields after harvest to get rid of the stumps. This method, whilecost-saving, creates huge environmental impacts.
The Thai government hasproposed measures to address the fine dust problem since 2019, including arrestingfarmers caught breaking the law by burning crops.
According to the ministry, burningcrops is not only illegal but also creates a burden on society as airpollution from the smoke can linger in the atmosphere above densely populatedareas for up to six months.
The affected areas are theNorth, the Northeast, the East, and the Central region including the Bangkokmetropolitan area, which have a combined population of about 44 million people.
To help sugarcane farmersstruggling financially, the ministry has been providing a subsidy of 120 THB (3.4 USD) per tonne of output to hire labour or buy equipment to properly andcleanly get rid of the harvest stumps, noting that 14.38billion THB has so far been disbursed.
It also supports farmers interested in usingmodern technology in sugarcane harvesting to reduce the need to burn theirfields, the ministry added./.
