Most people are not sure the government will be able to solve the PM2.5 problem, says an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted on Jan 21-25 among 1,376 people nationwide.
Asked whether the government can solve the PM2.5 problem, 93.6% say no, as it has failed so far to come up with measures to deal with it. Of them, 52.9% are not sure and 40.7% have little confidence in the government's ability.
Only 4.8% say they are somewhat confident in the government's ability while 1.6% say they have every confidence the government can solve the problem. About 55.1% say they follow up on the fine-dust situation daily; 35% say they do so on some days only; 8% rarely do so because they do not want to get stressed; and 1.9% say they are not interested as they have to concentrate on their work.
Asked whether they know what causes the problem, 84.3% said the dust comes from construction sites, industrial factories, exhaust fumes from vehicles on the roads and burning of grass and forests; while the rest, 15.7%%, say they are not interested.
Asked about the impact of the dust, 5.5% mention health, the respiratory system and brain; 22.6% cite the economy and tourism; 12.9% mention daily routines and out-of-home activities; 10.2% name visibility; and 4.3% say mental health.
Asked what they have done to protect themselves from PM2.5, 96% say they wear protective masks; 35.8% reduce outdoor activities; and 11.7% install air purifiers.
On what the government should do to solve the problem, 33.8% suggested imposing measures to restrict the use of private cars, promote use of public transport and prohibit outdoor burning; 31.4% say checks must be conducted on vehicles; 27% suggest water spraying and rain-making; 24.8% mention distribution of face masks; and 16.4% say factories emitting toxic smoke and construction sites should be controlled.