Elisa Miller
With gray, smog-covered skylines, the tropical country and its citizens are facing serious pollution issues.
Polluted Bangkok cityscape. Zaonar Saizainalin. Pexels.
In February of this year, Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city, was ranked the fourth most polluted city in the world, prompting the closure of more than 350 schools. These days, Bangkok is often covered in a thick layer of smog, which coats the sky in a hazy gray or apocalyptic orange. Trucks and scooters whiz through the streets, leaving trails of black smoke in their wake. The crisis is so intense that citizens can be seen wearing protective face masks around the city. Northern Thailand suffers even worse pollution, as Chiang Mai, which previously rivaled Bangkok as the cleaner and more picturesque destination, has hazardous levels of air pollution for almost three-quarters of the year.
Ranked the 45th most polluted nation in 2024, Thailand has an average AQI of 71 and a PM2.5 concentration of 19.84 micrograms per cubic meter. AQI, or Air Quality Index, measures the amount of toxins and pollution in the air, while PM2.5 measures particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. These fine particles can be breathed deep into the lungs, causing respiratory and cardiovascular issues. In a survey by Marketpoll in 2024, Thai citizens considered environmental issues and air pollution to be their top public concerns, with 74% proclaiming that these made a huge impact on their quality of life.
Data shows that Thailand’s PM2.5 levels present a moderate health risk, reducing life expectancy by two years. The various effects include respiratory issues, cardiovascular disease, weakened immune system and cognitive impairment. In 2024, 12.3 million people suffered from health issues caused by Thailand’s air pollution.
There are three distinct causes of the environmental crisis: vehicular emissions, agricultural burning and industrial pollution. Notably, there is an annual burning season from January to April, when farmers in the north burn crop residues to quickly and cheaply clear fields. 83% of the total residue comes from rice and sugarcane. This practice leads to extreme air pollution and, in 2023, affected an estimated 1.7 million citizens. 1,800 people died during the burning season in Chiang Mai alone.
While the government has cracked down on crop burning, farmers have few other means of cultivation. 40% of Thai farmers live below the poverty line and lack access to the heavy machinery or manpower required to raze fields in a more environmentally-conscious manner. With little governmental support, many farmers continue to engage in crop burning each year.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pledged to improve air quality in 2023, as the pollution crisis continued to worsen. The Department of Climate Change and Environment was established that year, while the nation’s first Climate Change Act was drafted in 2024. They are currently working on the Draft Clean Air Act, which aims to serve as the foundation of legally addressing air pollution.
Citizens were the ones to introduce the bill to parliament. Thailand Clean Air Network is a small organization of Thai citizens spearheading the fight against air pollution and was founded by Weenarin Lulitanonda and Dr. Kanongnij Sribuaiam, who first came together to draft the bill in 2018. They spent years obtaining the necessary 10,000 signatures and consulting with local groups and farmers before bringing it to the government.
GET INVOLVED
You can support the Thai Clean Air Network by visiting their website and signing their petition, or you can share their message on social media. Express your concerns to local political officials and pledge your support for the Clean Air Act.
Elisa Miller
Elisa grew up in Chicago and recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in English and Communications. If she is not lost in a book, she can be found running, watching 30 Rock, or doing a puzzle.Instagram: elisamilller
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elisamiller-writing