Northern provinces take the hardest hit from PM2.5

Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son are the provinces hardest hit by fine dust pollution which has caused people to fall ill with respiratory illnesses and skin diseases.

PM2.5 fine dust has blanketed 17 northern provinces although it has surged to critical levels in those three provinces, the Department of Health (DoH) said.

Of the three, Mae Hong Son was worst affected, at 194 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3), far above the 50 microgrammes the Department of Pollution Control has set as Thailand’s safe level but which is still double the World Health Organization’s 25 µg/m3 limit.

DoH director-general Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said yesterday the PM2.5 pollution in the North is potentially harmful to people’s health.

The dust level in Bangkok, the Northeast and the Central Plains provinces remains moderate.

From Jan 1 to March 7, the number of…