Government Says Haze level Unhealthy in Northern Thailand
Government Says Haze level Unhealthy in Northern Thailand
18 February 2016
published by www.chiangraitimes.com
Thailand– According to Director-General Chatchai Promlert of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, the haze affecting northern Thailand has reached levels that can be considered harmful to health.
Chatchai Promlert said on Tuesday that the Pollution Control Department had reported that the levels of dust particles measuring less than 10 micrometres known as PM10 had crossed the prescribed safe threshold of 120 in four out of nine provinces where monitoring was conducted. The level of PM10 in the nine regions Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Phrae, Phayao and Tak was measured at between 68 and 160.
The haze level was considered unhealthy in Chiang Mai, Lampang, Lamphun and Phrae provinces, the Bangkok Post reported.
Mr Chatchai said that he had asked agencies in the North Region to closely monitor the situation and air quality. He advised them to be prepared to spray water to reduce the levels of dust particles if necessary and called for firefighting equipment to be put on standby.
Mr Chatchai also urged people not to burn garbage and agricultural trash, which would exacerbate the situation. He added that people should avoid outdoor activities and wear face masks when outdoors. He also advised people to drive with extra precaution as visibility was compromised.
Thailands Interior Ministry has instructed all northern and north-eastern provinces to accelerate forest fire and haze mitigation measures, according to Permanent Secretary Krissada Boonyarat.Según el Departamento Nacional de Planeación (DNP), las quemas de vegetación le costaron a Colombia $476 millones el año pasado. “La suma de las pérdidas anuales de servicios ecosistémicos es de cerca de $2,9 billones de pesos, que equivale a una pérdida anual aproximada de $323 mil millones, equivalente a 0,04% del PIB”, añadió el Director. Las zonas más afectadas son Magdalena, Cundinamarca, Huila, Boyacá y Casanare. Además de esto, Gaviria esta pérdida se extendería para los próximos años, pues la recuperación de los bosques y los ecosistemas podría tardar al rededor de 30 años. Por eso, el director del DNP hizo una llamado a proteger los bosques y explicó que no son “mero paisajismo”, pues ayudan a regular el agua y los sedimentos, y a capturar el carbono. Un informe del Departamento Nacional de Planeación reunió las cifras que en pesos dejaron los incendios forestales en todo el país. Estas acciones han evitado que los efectos del fenómeno de El Niño tanto en incendios forestales como en disminución la oferta hídrica del país fuera más altos considerando la gravedad del fenómeno. Pasion Noticias http://pasionsports.com/2016/02/incendios-por-fen-meno-de-el-ni-o-costaron-476-mil-millones/
