The recent death of an academic in Chiang Mai from lung cancer has heightened concerns about PM2.5 pollution in the northern province, which has consistently ranked one of the world's most air-polluted areas.
Asst Prof Pichaarpa Pisutserani, a lecturer at Chiang Mai University's (CMU) faculty of political science, expressed her condolences to the family of Prof Rawiwan Olarnratmanee, dean of the university's architecture faculty, on her Facebook page yesterday.
She said Prof Rawiwan, who received the Council of Deans of Architecture Schools of Thailand Award 2015-2016 for outstanding achievements in the field, is the most recent CMU lecturer to succumb to lung cancer.
According to Asst Prof Pichaarpa, three other CMU lecturers have died from lung cancer since 2022.
They were Assoc Prof Panuwan Chanthawankura, from the faculty of science who died in March 2022, Assoc Prof Mongkol Rayanakhon, from the same faculty who died in September last year, and Krittai Tanasombatkul, from the faculty of medicine who died in December last year.
She also said that Mongkol, a former dean of the science faculty, had researched haze pollution since 2007, at a time when PM2.5 was not widely known to the public.
Meanwhile, the Chiang Mai Breathe Council yesterday issued a statement calling on local residents and visitors to take all necessary precautions until the haze situation improves.
It said haze pollution in the province was critical, with three tambons in three separate districts experiencing PM2.5 concentration levels exceeding 100 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³) since March 25.
They were tambon Hang Dong in Hot district, tambon Muang Na in Chiang Dao district and tambon Si Phum in Muang district.
The safe threshold of PM2.5 is set at 37µg/m³.
The council also called on the government and agencies concerned to implement measures to mitigate harm from PM2.5 haze, including announcing a work-from-home policy.
According to IQAir.com, the concentration of PM2.5 ultra-fine dust was at a level 22.2 times higher than what the World Health Organization considers safe.