CHIANG MAI, 20 March 2014 The haze situation in Chiang Mai has deteriorated to the worst level this year on Wednesday, while the temperature in Lampang has reached 40 degrees Celsius.
The airborne particulate matter reading in Chiang Mai has remained above the acceptable level for more than a week, and Wednesday’s reading rose to 182 micrograms per cubic meter – the highest level recorded so far this year. People in the province are reported to be suffering from agitated eyes and nose.
Chiang Mai provincial governor Wichien Phutthiwinyu has asked the Air Force to dispatch aircraft to release water into the air. The governor has also asked the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation to plan cloud seeding operations to alleviate the haze situation.
So far this year, 669 forest fires have burned through 6,212 rai of land in Chiang Mai; most of the burnt areas were within national forest preserves.
On the same day, Lampang province experienced a high temperature of 40 degrees Celsius in Thoen district.
The weather bureau has the heat will be more intense this year than previously, and the public should brace themselves for rain storms, gusts, and hail storms during March 20-24.
