Destinations known | Thailand’s toxic smog: bad for tourism, good for the Department of Royal Rainmaking
- Poor air quality, caused by weather patterns, vehicle emissions and the burning of crops and rubbish, threatens to affect visitor numbers
- Tourists urged to wear respirator masks as ‘haze’ shows no sign of clearing
Air quality is to Hongkongers what weather is to Britons: something about which to endlessly gripe until those rare occasions when the haze lifts and the trinity of chimneys that rises from Lamma Power Station is visible in crystalline clarity. But we are not alone. Residents of Beijing, New Delhi and Los Angeles understand our grief, as do those living or holidaying in Thailand’s capital, which has been so choked by a cloud of toxic smog that its retailers have almost run out of air purifiers, according to a Bloomberg report.
The “haze”, as it is often euphemistically named, descended on Bangkok in December. A perfect storm of high air pressure, wind factors, vehicle emissions, construction dust, coal-fired power plants spewings and the burning of crops and rubbish, the pollution registered 182 on the World Air Quality Index (AQI) at its worst, on January 14.
According to the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency, a reading below 50 indicates optimum air quality, 101 or more makes it unhealthy for sensitive groups such as young children and the elderly, while anything over 151 is not good news for anyone. (In contrast, the scale set by Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department is a somewhat arcane one to 10, where 4 places people at a moderate risk and 7 or higher is red alert.)
On January 15, the Tourism Authority of Thailand advised visitors to Bangkok to take “all necessary precautions” – although it wasn’t explicit what those might be – adding that the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation (yes, it’s a thing) would attempt to make it artificially rain to clear the air.
A study by Kasikorn Research Center, an affiliate of Thai banking group Kasikornbank, estimates that the economic losses for Bangkok and its surrounding areas could reach 2.6 billion baht (US$83 million) because of the smog’s impact on the health and tourism industries.