Samut Prakan rejects air quality report, insists it only had 55 bad air days last year

HouseFresh, a top air-quality analysis company, claimed that the province in central Thailand ranked 9th among cities with the worst air quality.

According to the rankings published on its website earlier this week, the worst air quality in the world can be found in two cities in Iran (Baghdad and Isfahan), four in India (Patna, Jaipur, Gandhinagar and Chandigarh), the Ugandan capital of Kampala, Lanzhou in China and Samut Prakan.

“The level of PM2.5 in Samut Prakan only exceeded the safety standard on 55 days last year,” said Phatchara Sasichachayamorn, chief of the office on Tuesday. He added that the data was based on readings from five air-quality stations across the province.

PM2.5 refers to dust particles that are 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter, long-term exposure to which is linked with chronic diseases including lung and heart problems. Thailand’s safety standard for PM2.5 stands at a 24-hour average of no more than 37.5 micrograms per cubic metre of air (μg/m3).

“In 2021, there were 47 days when the PM2.5 level exceeded the [Thai] standard, 46 days in 2020 and 61 days in 2019,” he said. “The level of air pollution in the province fluctuates due to the varying length of the rainy season, but it is not correct to say that Samut Prakan had bad air every day last year.”