The level of PM2.5 hit alarming levels in four districts of Bangkok on Tuesday amid warnings that fine dust pollution could tarnish the country's reputation if it recurs during the Apec summit next month.
Excessive levels of haze were detected in Nong Khaem, Klong Sam Wa, Taling Chan, and Thon Buri, according to Ekwaranyu Amrapan, spokesman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). He said the Thai Meteorological Department has forecast that a cold trough from China is spreading over the upper sections of the country and the South China Sea.
The weather pattern has prompted the BMA to be on alert for a rise in hazardous ultra-fine dust particles (PM2.5).
At 10am on Tuesday levels surpassed the government's "safe" threshold set at 50 microgrammes per cubic metre of air, specifically in Nong Khaem's Khang Pom Tamruat intersection (55 µg/m³), Klong Sam Wa's district office (53 µg/m³), Taling Chan's Buddha Monthong Sai 1 (51 µg/m³) and Thon Buri's Mahai Sawan intersection (51 µg/m³).
The Thai Sang Thai Party warned that the government could lose face if it failed to tackle PM2.5 pollution during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, scheduled for Nov 18-19 in Bangkok.