Forest fires and weather conditions in the northern region of Thailand remain critical, with an increasing number of hotspots being detected in Mae Taeng district of Chiang Mai province.
Chiang Mai authorities have asked members of the Eagle Center Thailand to help firefighters extinguish numerous hotspots in Mae Taeng district. Twenty-four hotspots were identified in the district. A command center in charge of addressing dust particles in Chiang Mai reported that 114 hotspots were identified in five districts of the Northern Province. However, the number of hotspots is expected to decline.
The Governor of Chiang Mai, Charoenrit Sanguansat, has instructed the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office in Chiang Mai to direct officials in all districts to survey agricultural, community and forest areas and collect relevant information, which will be used to develop a fire prevention and control plan.
The Director of the Northern Meteorolgical Center, Thanawut Panchapornudomlap, said today that dust particles have accumulated due to stagnant air circulation and haze drifting in from neighboring countries. Because of Chiang Mai’s mountainous terrain, higher temperatures during the day cause the air on mountain slopes to elevate. The air eventually cools and condenses on dust particles to form clouds. Improved weather conditions are expected soon.
The Northern Royal Rainmaking Operations Center has dispatched planes to assess weather conditions in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang and Phayao, and found that the upper northern region still has low humidity levels and high air pressure. If the conditions are favorable, the center will be able to conduct operations to alleviate the haze situation next week.
According to the Pollution Control Department, air quality in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces remained at unsafe levels this morning. Levels of particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5) in the air reached 180 micrograms per cubic meter in Chiang Dao district of Chiang Mai province; 112 micrograms per cubic meter in Muang Chiang Rai district of Chiang Rai provincel; 165 micrograms per cubic meter in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district and 132 micrograms per cubic meter in Muang Mae Hong Son district of Mae Hong Son province. (NNT)
