PM2.5 level hits 351 in the North
published : 30 Jan 2020 at 09:45
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Post Reporters
Fine dust levels were up again on Wednesday with the upper North hit hardest by the air pollution.
The level of PM2.5 peaked at 351 microgrammes per cubic metre in one of the worst-hit areas, Doi Tao district of Chiang Mai on Wednesday morning.
In the district, visibility dropped significantly while residents complained of sore eyes and itchy skin. Slash-and-burn farming was blamed for the heavy dust pollution.
In Phayao, 381 villages across nine districts were declared areas most prone to bushfires, with a ban on the lighting of outdoor fires being enforced until the end of April, which marks the height of summer.
Meanwhile, PM2.5 levels also rose again in greater Bangkok but were still on the "safe" side.
Learn from listening
Vocabulary
- bushfire: a fire that burns in an area where there are many plants and trees - ไฟป่า
- dust: very small pieces of dirt that cover surfaces inside buildings like a powder - ฝุ่น
- itchy (adj): having or producing an itch (an uncomfortable feeling on your skin that makes you want to scratch) on the skin - คัน
- PM2.5 (n): atmospheric particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair. It can lodge in the lungs and enter blood vessels, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular disease -
- prone (verb): to likely to experience a particular problem more often than is usual - ที่มีแนวโน้ม
- slash-and-burn: involving the cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields - ไร่เลื่อนลอย
- sore (adj): hurting, aching - เจ็บ
- visibility: how clearly objects can be seen, or how far you can see clearly, usually because of the weather conditions - ทัศนวิสัย
- Keywords
- air pollution
- dust levels
- dust pollution
