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Can you comment on the air quality? Is it as big an issue as some people make it out to be?

by peller 9y ago

WordSkill 9y ago
Chiang Mai is the nicest city but all of Northern Thailand is affected by terrible air pollution in March and April, you simply get out of town during those months. The confusion about whether or not it is "as big an issue as some people make it out to people" is because influential members in the various forums and Facebook groups have a vested interest in down-playing it, their business in some way benefits from having a steady stream of nomad newbies arriving throughout the year. They try to shout down any mention of it, and will outright lie when someone asks a question such as yours. Do real research on particulate pollution and look at the stats. The haze is genuinely bad for your health long before it becomes as visually obvious as it does in those months. A year in which the smoke season is considered to be "not so bad" can actually do more damage, because people are inclined to spend more time outdoors. My opinion is that, although Chiang Mai is relatively cheap, no-one should move here unless they can also afford to spend those two months elsewhere in Thailand or South East Asia. Most Westerners on tourist visas have to spend stretches of time away from Thailand anyway, so, I treat the smoke season as an opportunity to spend time in Vietnam or The Philippines.
- vram22 9y ago
  I was speaking recently to a student of mine who lives in Singapore (for the last 4 years) and asked him about this air pollution / haze issue; he said it is has become less bad over the last few years.
  - jpatokal 9y ago
    The haze in Thailand is different from the one in Singapore. In Northern Thailand it's locally generated in the dry season around March-April (forest fires plus farmers burning fields on purpose) and considerably worsened by the topography (no ocean, mountains on three sides). In Singapore it's forest fire smoke from Indonesia blowing in with the winds, and it's usually during the summer (June to October, peaking around August).
    - vram22 9y ago
      Cool, thanks for those details.
    - kungito 9y ago
      So is there no way to address this problem? I always thought of places with polluted air to be in that situation because of lack of regulation of factories or car emissions

Can you comment on the air quality? Is it as big an issue as some people make it out to be?

by peller 9y ago

Can you comment on the air quality? Is it as big an issue as some people make it out to be?

Chiang Mai is the nicest city but all of Northern Thailand is affected by terrible air pollution in March and April, you simply get out of town during those months. The confusion about whether or not it is "as big an issue as some people make it out to people" is because influential members in the various forums and Facebook groups have a vested interest in down-playing it, their business in some way benefits from having a steady stream of nomad newbies arriving throughout the year. They try to shout down any mention of it, and will outright lie when someone asks a question such as yours. Do real research on particulate pollution and look at the stats. The haze is genuinely bad for your health long before it becomes as visually obvious as it does in those months. A year in which the smoke season is considered to be "not so bad" can actually do more damage, because people are inclined to spend more time outdoors. My opinion is that, although Chiang Mai is relatively cheap, no-one should move here unless they can also afford to spend those two months elsewhere in Thailand or South East Asia. Most Westerners on tourist visas have to spend stretches of time away from Thailand anyway, so, I treat the smoke season as an opportunity to spend time in Vietnam or The Philippines.

vram22 9y ago
I was speaking recently to a student of mine who lives in Singapore (for the last 4 years) and asked him about this air pollution / haze issue; he said it is has become less bad over the last few years.
- jpatokal 9y ago
  The haze in Thailand is different from the one in Singapore. In Northern Thailand it's locally generated in the dry season around March-April (forest fires plus farmers burning fields on purpose) and considerably worsened by the topography (no ocean, mountains on three sides). In Singapore it's forest fire smoke from Indonesia blowing in with the winds, and it's usually during the summer (June to October, peaking around August).
  - vram22 9y ago
    Cool, thanks for those details.
  - kungito 9y ago
    So is there no way to address this problem? I always thought of places with polluted air to be in that situation because of lack of regulation of factories or car emissions