BANGKOK – High levels of smog continue to blanket Bangkok as police beef up law enforcement against polluting vehicles.
Police, pollution control and transport officials set up 33 smog checkpoints across the capital city on Friday.
Deputy Chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau Pol Maj-General JirasanKaewsaeng-ek said over 8,200 drivers had been prosecuted for violating pollution control regulations between January 1 and 23.
Most of the vehicles found to have emitted unsafe levels of smog were trucks and buses, he said.
Bangkok has been hit by PM2.5 for weeks. On Wednesday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) ordered 437 schools to close due to unhealthy levels of particulate matters.
Bangkok air quality on Friday slightly improved. BMA reported PM2.5 levels ranging from 27-55 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
Only one spot in Wang Thong Lang district was found to have PM2.5 level exceeding the safety threshold of 50 micrograms, the BMA said.
