Every breath a struggle, as air pollution harms health in Thailand

Medical staff attend to a patient with acute respiratory issues at the Central Chest Institute of Thailand in Bangkok on April 21, 2023. - AFP

BANGKOK (AFP): An elderly patient hooked up to a tangle of tubes lies struggling for breath in a Bangkok hospital as Thailand battles a "drastic increase" in respiratory problems caused by a spike in air pollution.

His wife holds his hand and strokes his face, with a nurse in blue scrubs listening to his chest through a stethoscope.