REPORTING. In Thailand, residents are suffocating in “a cloud” of pollution that “goes to the brain”

A gray veil, visible to the naked eye, fell on the cities of Bangkok and even more of Chiang Mai, in the
northern Thailand. As in every hot season, these fine particles, from agricultural burns
aggregate with the toxic fumes from vehicles and industry, making the atmosphere in the
big unbreathable cities. Thailand has been leading the most polluted countries in the world for several weeks, while the political class is dragging its feet in an attempt to solve the problem.

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During this time, the inhabitants, under an oppressive heat, can only endure and protect themselves, as they can. “Early this morning I went for a ride around town on my motorbike. I could barely make out the road as the smog was so thick, worries Jitrapon, a photographer in Chiang Mai, who documents the pollution in his hometown every morning. The mountain was covered in a cloud of dust. At the market, people are all wearing masks and trying to continue leading normal lives. The tourists at Chiang Mai had not been warned of the pollution peak. They must spend their holidays in a thick fog.”

Less than a month before the legislative elections

In addition to the pollution peak, there is an unprecedented heat wave in Southeast Asia, with 46 degrees
recorded in the north of the country. AT Bangkok, the heat even sometimes causes accidents of the
traffic because motorcycle riders, like Klum, do everything to avoid having to wait in the middle of
sun. “When we move, it’s still fine, with the wind, but as soon as we have to stop, at a red light for example, it goes to the brain, so we burn all the lights. Now, we have pollution on top of that. “

“A few days ago, we had to cover our whole face because there was so much dust.”

Klum, a biker in Chiang Mai

at franceinfo

The situation has become so critical that nearly 2.5 million Thais have gone to hospital for respiratory infections this year, including 200,000 in the past week. Children and the elderly are the first affected. The theme of air pollution makes
slowly its way into the debates of the legislative elections which are due to take place on May 14, 2023.