Thailand’s government began deliberations last week on a new Clean Air Act to address the nation’s annual haze crisis that chokes the country during the dry season months, typically between December and April each year. The sources of pollution are mainly human-made, from agricultural burning, both locally and in neighboring countries, alongside sources from urban areas, traffic, and the industry, energy, mining and waste sectors. Air quality is also affected by forest fires that have taken a toll on the region’s landscapes and wildlife in recent years. Of chief concern are levels of PM2.5, a class of airborne pollutants so fine that they can be inhaled into the lungs, which typically far exceed guideline levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in many parts of the country each year. Following Thailand’s general election in May 2023, the new administration led by Prime Minister Srettha Thaivisin have vowed to tackle the air pollution crisis as a matter of urgency. “This toxic PM2.5 haze is just a symptom of the problem, just like the tip of an iceberg. There are root causes that need to be seriously tackled in order to solve it,” Buntoon Srethasirote, chair of the Strategic Transformation Office’s Clean Air Act working group, told local media in November 2023. A thick haze greets the rising sun in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok. Image by Oliwa via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0) Several separate versions of draft legislation have been submitted for parliamentary consideration. Among the versions are four compiled by…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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