CHIANG MAI, Thailand – The authorities on Friday urged people in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai to stay indoors and work from home as air pollution spiked to hazardous levels.
Smoke from forest fires and farmers burning crop stubble has blanketed the popular tourist destination in recent weeks.
On Friday morning, air monitoring website IQAir ranked Chiang Mai as the most polluted major city in the world, ahead of regular hot spots such as Delhi and Lahore.
Levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles – so tiny they can enter the bloodstream – were more than 66 times the World Health Organisation’s annual guideline, according to IQAir.
Chiang Mai provincial governor Nirat Pongsittitavorn issued a statement urging people to stay indoors and work from home to “protect themselves and reduce the health impact” from PM2.5 particles.
Thailand has been choking on a…
