Thailand continues to seek cooperation from other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as it attempts to tackle cross-border haze pollution, the Pollution Control Department (PCD) said yesterday.
PCD director-general Pinsak Suraswadi revealed that further cooperation in controlling the haze pollution in Thailand -- which partially stems from haze coming from neighbouring countries -- will be sought in fresh dialogue with other Asean nations.
"The talks will be conducted under an existing Asean agreement on air pollution involving cross-border haze," Mr Pinsak said.
"Recently, on Jan 27, Asean had -- under this specific agreement -- raised the cross-border haze pollution to Level 2 and had accordingly notified all Asean members."
Mr Pinsak said cross-border haze pollution is categorised according to four levels, from zero to three.
"Level 0 is defined as a normal situation; Level 1 as the beginning of a dry season when hotspots begin to emerge; Level 2 as a situation in which more than 150 hotspots are detected for two consecutive days; and Level 3 as a situation in which more than 250 hotspots are detected for two consecutive days," he said.
As required under the Asean agreement, Thailand has been reporting its haze pollution daily to the Asean Secretariat, he said, adding the secretariat is responsible for gathering data about the haze pollution levels in every Asean country and assessing the overall situation for the bloc.
As of 8am yesterday, the PCD's Centre for Air Pollution Mitigation (CAPM) reported that the levels of PM2.5 airborne fine dust particles in Thailand ranged from 12 to 121 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³), spanning the healthy to very harmful categories.
According to the CAPM, 26 provinces recorded PM2.5 in excess of the 50 μg/m³ safe level, including Bangkok and five surrounding provinces.
In the North, 14 provinces reported levels far above the safety level, with tambon Mae Pa in Mae Sot district of Tak recording the highest level of 121 μg/m³ yesterday.