Inside Thailand’s tussle with toxic smog

BANGKOK, Thailand — On a midweek January morning in Bangkok, the sun was attempting to peek through a blanket of pollution hovering among the city's skyscrapers. Air quality monitoring apps residents have on their phones started to ping red — alerting them to stay indoors and avoid outdoor exercise. Bangkok authorities were forced to release their own warning, advising city dwellers to work from home as levels of pollution rose to toxic levels. The number of patients experiencing pollution-related health problems more than doubled to nearly 213,000 in the week up to Jan. 26, up from about 96,000 the week before. Dangerous pollution Pollution warnings are common in Thailand from February to April because of the burning season, when farmers in the north of the country set fire to their land as a way of removing residues from the previous crop and preparing for the next round of harvesting. “During the burning of the residue, it emits a lot of air pollution, particularly particulate matter and carbon monoxide,” Kannika Thampanishvong, a senior research fellow on climate change policy and green growth at the Thailand Development Research Institute, told Devex. As a result, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a “significant health problem” among farmers, studies show. At the same time, emissions from Bangkok traffic continue to clog up the city’s atmosphere. In 2021, air pollution was estimated to be responsible for the deaths of over 29,000 people in the country, and in 2022, the average Thai resident was exposed to four times the amount of the pollutant particulate matter 2.5, or PM2.5, than what is deemed safe by the World Health Organization. The country’s Air Quality Life Index estimates pollution is reducing average life expectancy by almost two years. “There is growing evidence of the harmful impacts of air pollution, especially the physical health impacts on nonrespiratory and cardiovascular systems and on mental health,” Jaee Nikam, a research associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute Asia, told Devex. Special clinics This situation has prompted the Ministry of Public Health to establish 66 clinics in the country to treat patients with breathing difficulties, skin rashes, and heart problems related to air pollution. The Thai government is also working with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, an international network of governments, civil society organizations, businesses, and research institutes that works to put into action plans to reduce pollution. Together they are assessing pollutants and emissions in Thailand to gain insight into how best to reduce them. Meanwhile, the Disease Control Department has asked 22 hospitals in Bangkok to investigate diseases linked to pollution. Action needed But experts say far more is needed to save people’s health. While there is a growing number of policies related to the issue, Nikam says that their effect is limited. “This is largely due to no clear enforcement of environmental policies and an insufficient number of governmental organizations involved in air pollution mitigation caused due to the minimal allocation of budget for air quality policies as opposed to economic growth-aiding policies,” she said. In March 2022, a group of NGOs, including Greenpeace Thailand and the Environmental Law Foundation, began pursuing a lawsuit against the government for failure to provide citizens with their right to clean air. Another group, the Thailand Clean Air Network is pushing for a Clean Air Bill to be passed that would see the creation of a more robust and dedicated agency, higher taxes and penalties on polluters, and more awareness raising of pollution-related health threats. Incentives for farmers In 2013 the government introduced a “zero-burning” policy in certain areas to curb the issues of agricultural land burning. Research shows that the number of fire hotspots has since decreased but the move has seen “the smoke haze situation [prolonged] from a 2-month period.” TDRI’s Thampanishvong believes offering farmers different prices for products that come from burning versus those produced in a more sustainable way could act as an incentive. “This could be one way to encourage the farmers to stop using the open burning to clear land to prepare for the next cropping season,” she said. A second solution, Thampanishvong suggested, would be for the government to offer loans to groups of farmers for the hire of machinery that will clear the land more sustainably. Several NGOs are already working with farmers on alternative methods. The Warm Heart Foundation in Chiang Mai, for example, trains farmers in the application of biochar — super charcoal made from biomass. With Biochar Life, WHF works to stop open-field crop waste burning and instead create carbon sinks, which make for more efficient land for crops to grow. Innovations Meanwhile, in Chiang Rai, The Mirror Foundation is utilizing technology to help arm citizens with information on the situation. An app called Smoke Watch was developed by the SERVIR-Mekong partnership, which includes the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. It notifies fire fighters and communities when a forest fire emerges so that it can be tackled, thus reducing its spread as well as emissions. Often these fires originate as agricultural burning practice gone awry. In terms of what can be done about traffic pollution, Surat Bualert, an assistant professor focused on environmental science at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University, said the focus in cities is on a transition to electric vehicles but that it’s slow. The government has committed to making 30% of its auto production electric by 2030 while Thailand’s National Innovation Agency has budgeted 100 million baht ($3 million) this year for projects dedicated toward developing electric vehicles and technology, and tuk-tuks and buses are slowly being switched for electric alternatives. Looking ahead, Thampanishvong suggested a vehicle tax policy overhaul that means people pay more for older vehicles that emit more could help. “I think you have to reform it so that you make sure that the tax that people are paying each year is going up with the age of the vehicle,” she explained, adding that this might discourage the use of diesel-powered cars. Breaking down silos One issue is that many of the efforts to respond to toxic pollution is that they tend to be reactive and seasonal, in line with the levels of PM2.5, Nikam said. “This means that other pollutants that are also harmful to health and are present all year round may be left by the wayside, particularly emissions stemming from transport, industry, and power generation,” she said. The group of NGOs spearheading the lawsuit agree that a more robust and multipronged approach to tackle pollution at source, all year round is needed. It is “more cost-effective” to establish strong measures to prevent pollution at their sources rather than as a consequence, Alliya Moun-ob, energy transition coordinator at Greenpeace Thailand, wrote in a statement about the lawsuit. Nikam suggests an overarching agency with responsibility for clean air, with the power to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the existing laws, and the ability to bring together the various actors involved could help move away from the siloed approach taken with pollution. This would “emphasize the cross-sectoral co-benefits that could be achieved in areas including climate change, health, environmental protection, and agricultural productivity” if pollution were to be tackled, Nikam added. Visit the Planet Health series for more in-depth reporting on the current impact of the climate crisis on human health around the world. Join the conversation by using the hashtag #PlanetHealth.