BANGKOK: Residents of the Thai capital once again face unhealthy air quality today, as IQAir places Bangkok firmly in the top 10 of most polluted cities
Bangkok was ranked as the eighth most polluted city in the world this morning, according to air-quality monitoring website IQAir.
Bangkok registered an air quality index (AQI) of 141 on Thursday (March 20). The scale has six categories: 0-50 (good air quality), 51-100 (intermediate), 101-150 (unhealthy for some groups), 151-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy), and over 301 (hazardous).
The 10 cities with the worst air pollution in the world as of 8am on March 20 according to IQAir were:
1. Kathmandu, Nepal – 188
2. Delhi, India – 176
3. Lahore, Pakistan – 156
4. Algiers, Algeria – 155
5. Hanoi, Vietnam – 155
6. Dhaka, Bangladesh – 151
7. Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 143
8. Bangkok, Thailand – 141
9. Wuhan, China – 138
10. Warsaw, Poland – 132
IQAir also listed top 10 areas in Thailand with the worst air quality on Thursday morning, as follows:
1. Samut Songkhram province – 163
2. Nakhon Pathom province – 156
3. Saraburi province – 153
4. Samut Sakhon province – 149
5. Phra Pradaeng district, Samut Prakan province – 146
6. Bang Sao Thong district, Samut Prakan province – 146
7. Nakhon Ratchasima province – 143
8. Bangkok – 141
9. Phetchabun province – 140
10. Samut Prakan province – 132
AQI measures six types of air pollutants, namely PM2.5 (fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less), PM10, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. - The Nation/ANN
