Nearly 200 schools were closed on Thursday due to high air pollution in Bangkok. Residents were asked to work from home, and car traffic was restricted in some districts of the city.
On Thursday in Bangkok, the concentration of PM2.5 particulate matter reached 122 micrograms per cubic meter, which means that it was eight times higher than the daily norms set by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the ranking published by IQAir, a Swiss organization monitoring the air condition, on Thursday the capital of Thailand was in sixth place among the most polluted cities in the world.
Due to extremely high concentration smog authorities have introduced security measures. 194 of 437 schools under the Bangkok municipal government were closed. This is the highest number of schools closed in the Thai capital for this reason since 2020.
Recommendations for remote work
Bangkok residents have been asked to work from home if possible. However, the telework program, which companies can join on a voluntary basis, covers only 100,000 of the city's 10 million inhabitants, emphasizes the AFP agency.
Car traffic has been restricted in some districts of the city until Friday.
Bangkok shrouded in smogPAP/EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
In Thailand and many other Southeast Asian countries, farmers burn stubble in winter, and low temperatures and weak winds keep pollution levels high over cities.
On Thursday, the top ten list of world cities with the most polluted air included three Chinese agglomerations, two Indian agglomerations and one each from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Egypt and Uganda – according to the IQAir ranking.
Bangkok shrouded in smogPAP/EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/NARONG SANGNAK