Concentrations of PM2.5 dust have risen across 18 provinces in the North and Northeast, as farmers begin to set fire to their agricultural waste to prepare for next season’s crops, the Pollution Control Department said yesterday.
The department said that higher-than-average levels of the harmful, ultra-fine pollutants were reported in Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Phrae, Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Tak, Phetchabun, Saraburi, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, Khon Kaen, Roi Et, Chaiyaphum, Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces.
One of the major contributors to the increasing dust pollution, the department said, is open burning by farmers who are preparing their land for planting.
The other major source of PM2.5 pollutants, it…
