Water is being sprayed from the rooftops of 150 condominium buildings across Bangkok to help mitigate fine dust particles choking the capital, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says.
The city's latest effort to bust the dust was revealed by Vallop Suwandee, chief adviser to the Bangkok governor as he inspected water spraying on the rooftop of the 30-storey Lumpini Suite Din Daeng-Ratchaprarop Condominium in Din Daeng district Thursday morning.
The building serves as a model for other buildings to have water sprayers deployed, Mr Vallop said, adding 150 condominium projects built by LPN Development Plc joined the effort.
According to Mr Vallop, water has been sprayed from the rooftops of these condominiums at 8am, noon and 6pm every day since Jan 15.
The real estate developer has also rolled out anti-dust measures for projects still under construction, including having dust measuring devices installed and spraying water around building sites, he said.
Dust filtering sheets were also installed in tile cutting rooms to prevent dust from escaping, Mr Vallop said.
The company has been responsible for all the expenses.
Wang Thonglang and Bang Kholaem districts were reported having the highest levels of PM 2.5 pollutants in the capital Thursday morning.
Mr Vallop said the BMA has asked the air force to spray water in the air and is continuing to clean roads to minimise dust, adding haze is likely to intensify again Friday.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Gen Surasak Karnjanarat on Thursday met representatives from nine northern provinces about their efforts to prevent bush fires and combat haze.
Gen Surasak said each province briefed him on efforts to deal with haze. He stressed relevant agencies must work together and follow directives from provincial governors to address the problem.
In Lampang, PM 2.5 levels in tambon Mae Moh of Mae Moh district and tambon Prabat of Muang district still exceeded the 50 microgrammes per cubic metre safety limit.
- Ploenpote commentary: Still no proactive steps