The director-general of Thailand’s Pollution Control Department says around 90% of the hotspots in northern Thailand are caused by human activities. Director-General Pinsak Suraswadi said the PM2.5 atmospheric pollution in the region is expected to increase before it improves.
Pinsak said that 90% of the hotspots were detected in conserved forests and that the problem would be worse between Saturday, March 3, and Friday, March 10, with higher levels of dust reported in Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Sukhothai, and Phitsanuloke.
Pinsak revealed that there is a high concentration of sugarcane farms and sugar millers in Phitsanuloke, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, and Phetchabun provinces. Farmers have been burning their crops at an accelerated rate, as some millers are starting to shut down their operations, Thai PBS reported.
The Geoinformatics and…
