BANGKOK, April 1 (dpa) - Large parts of the north Thailand have been enveloped in a thick layer of toxic smog for days, leading to many inhabitants struggling with health problems.
The provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, popular with tourists, are particularly badly affected.
In the week between March 19 and 26, more than 3,400 people visited hospitals in Chiang Rai alone to be treated for respiratory problems and sore throats, Thai PBS World reported.
"The Mae Sai township remains shrouded in a haze so thick that buildings can only be seen from a short distance away," it said.
Civil society groups and businessmen had called on provincial governor Puttipong Sirimat to declare the municipality a disaster area. However, the governor initially rejected the move.
The reason for the extreme air pollution is slash-and-burn agriculture in Thailand, but also in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
At the end of the dry season, farmers burn their fields to clear them of brushwood and weeds. Between January and March there are therefore often high levels of particulate matter.
Chiang Rai is located on the Golden Triangle in the border area with Laos and Myanmar.
The Bangkok Post newspaper quoted Pinsak Suraswadi, director-general of the Pollution Control Bureau, as saying that there is no wind in northern Thailand at the moment, so that the smog cannot dissipate.
The situation is expected to remain serious until next week.There had already been heavy smog in large parts of Thailand at the beginning of March. The capital Bangkok was also badly affected. However, the air quality there is now back within the normal range. - dpa
