THE NORTH / SMOKE HAZARD REMAINS CRITICAL

Haze proves too much for some

KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI & ONNUCHA HUTASINGH

Wundee Suntiwutimetee, editor of a Chiang Mai-based magazine, has decided to leave the city of Chiang Mai, saying the haze has become unbearable. ''It's like being trapped in a big oven. I have got sore eyes and throat, coughing, and breathing difficulties. Visibility is very poor and the weather is terribly hot during daytime,'' said Ms Wundee, a Bangkok native who moved to Chiang Mai five years ago.

''I went to a local pharmacy to buy a face-mask to protect myself from the polluted air, but the shopkeeper said the masks were all sold out,'' she said.

After more than two weeks of smoke-filled air, she decided it was time to bring her 18-month-old adopted son to take temporary refuge in Bangkok. Her son is suffering from eye irritation and breathing problems, she added.

''We will return to Chiang Mai only after the thick haze is gone,'' she said.

Nattaporn Wiwan, an office worker, said she has had chronic headaches for two weeks now.
Her health condition got worse on Tuesday.

''I woke up and found I was bleeding from the nose. It was my first nose-bleed in more than 10 years,'' she said.

Ms Nattaporn said she tried to keep to her office and apartment unit to avoid exposure to the haze.

Her family is in neighbouring Chiang Rai, which is also badly hit by the haze.

Her mother now has allergy problems triggered by the bad air quality in Wiang Pa Pao district, about 80km from Chiang Mai, added Ms Nattaporn.

Nikhom Phutta, a resident of Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district, said the situation in the outlying districts was much better than in the inner city, which had to put up with toxic gas emissions from motor vehicles and garbage incinerators.

''We smell whiffs of smoke from forest fires and burning farmland all the time, but they have not caused any health impact so far. My children, 10 and 7 years old, are still doing fine,'' said Mr Nikhom, a coordinator at the Wildlife Fund Thailand's Chiang Mai office.

Speaking about the causes of what he described as the worst air pollution in Chiang Mai's history, he said forest fires and slash-and-burn farming practices were only part of the problem.
Early ending of the rainy season in November last year and the absence of off-season rain, which usually comes at this time of the year, has worsened the haze pollution, he said.

Mr Nikhom also believes that the excessive use of water resources during the three-month Royal Floral Expo, which ended on Jan 31, also led to unusual dry conditions in the forest, thus increasing the severity of bush fires.

More than three million people visited Chiang Mai during the expo. Hotels were fully booked and water was pumped up to serve hotel guests, he said.

Thousands of tourist buses roamed the city and more than 1.5 million kilogrammes of garbage were generated, forcing the local incinerators to work longer hours, he said.

''There is no doubt these activities are partly to blame for the [current] haze in the North,'' he said.

In Mae Hong Son's Muang district, most people opted to stay in their homes with all doors and windows closed.

''It's really hot in here, but it's better than inhaling the smoke outside,'' said Saengthong Kayandee.

Another Mae Hong Son resident living in a remote district of Pang Ma Pha said the thick haze posed a serious obstacle to travelling, especially in mountainous areas.

Poor visibility posed a grave hazard for motorists in the province now, he added.

Bangkok Post
Thursday March 15, 2007