For weeks now, Bangkok has been shrouded in toxic haze. Like the rest of the city's population, I have been struggling to lead a normal existence. The avalanche of accumulated PM2.5 -- when it spikes -- sends the capital into the top 10 places with the worse air quality in the world.
Waking up to health-threatening smog each morning has been depressing. The health-damaging particles can contribute to a number of physical aliments, as I have found out in the most traumatic manner. For days, I've suffered from rashes, irritated eyes and a peculiar type of sore throat that has left me with a burning sensation.
While a face mask and sunglasses have helped alleviate my physical ailments, the manner with which our Thai officials have responded to the crisis has left me rather pessimistic as to when I'll be able to leave home without having to wear any such protection.
Our dear Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang reportedly admitted to reporters last Thursday that he had called an emergency expert meeting to discuss solutions to the surging pollution issue because he did not know what to do. That is, besides deploying water cannons and drones to combat unhealthy smog that shows no sign of abating -- a method that's been used repeatedly, despite being dismissed by scientists as ineffective.
Other related government agencies have also made little progress in tangibly addressing an issue which has been impacting millions of residents of all ages and from all walks of life.
We have to own up to the fact that, like most Asian megalopolises, Bangkok has been adversely affected by a toxic amalgam of unchecked industrialisation and urbanisation, not to mention a car-crazy society and lax regulation when it comes to getting old vehicles off the road. And these are just a fraction of the issues that have exacerbated the situation.
This is a crisis years in the making. Pollution-control monitors have long reported that they have been eliminating the dirtiest diesel engines. But a walk down any Bangkok road tells a different story.
My experience of Bangkok since I was a child involves city buses and private vehicles belching murky smoke, with little being done by authorities to castigate drivers beyond a slap on the wrist.
Finance companies have made it so easy for people to buy their own cars that we've seen a surge in the number of new vehicles, creating major traffic issues throughout the city. Many vehicles used for public transportation are in particularly poor condition. Bus drivers have long voiced their frustrations over having to drive with such dirty engines.
Little more than a decade ago, Bangkok briefly become a city where the air was actually getting cleaner. This was largely because of a ban on the majority of polluting vehicles. Needless to say, the situation deteriorated in the blink of an eye, and now here we are in our current plight.
I believe that the crisis we are facing today is due to gross negligence by those in power, particularly the ones put in office for the express purpose of looking after our environment. Corruption at all levels, complacency and a lack of transparency have made it impossible to hold such people accountable.
What I have come to realise over the years is that, in Thailand, a crisis has to reach a tipping point before policymakers become proactive about addressing a problem. Bangkok is infamous for its pollution, but our politicians have long been in denial as to the degree of the problem. And whenever they have tried to introduce measures to address pollution levels, these have largely been ineffectual. Now policymakers are suffering a rude awakening, with the realisation that the chemical miasma isn't just going to magically disappear.
This can't go on. Lives are at stake, as is a safe environment for our children to grow up in. According to the WHO, outdoor air pollution caused 4.2 million premature deaths in 2016, taking far more lives annually than Aids, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
This should act as a wake-up call for our government to do what needs to be done to prevent the situation worsening year on year. Hire the services of experts who can work quickly and effectively to address the hazardous smog that is choking citizens.
Please, no more water cannons or drones. Let's see some measures that actually work.
Yvonne Bohwongprasert is a feature writer for the Life section of the Bangkok Post.