Air quality in Tha Muang

What is the level of air pollution in Tha Muang?

Tha Muang has had some elevated levels of pollution present in its atmosphere, with some poor readings having been collected over the course of 2020. In 2021, this continued as the air quality remained at less than optimal levels, although not as severe as the figures recorded in the early portion of 2020.

In late August of 2021, Tha Muang was seen coming in with US AQI readings of 58, a reading that would place it into the 'moderate' air quality rating bracket. This is color-coded as yellow and requires a US AQI reading of anywhere between 51 to 100 to be classified as such. Whilst this is not overtly dangerous, it represents a level of air quality whereby more vulnerable individuals may start to experience respiratory irritation, or triggering of pre-existing health conditions. The public and those without any health problems may experience minor irritation to mucous membranes and their respiratory tract, but general activities will still be acceptable to conduct, albeit with precautions for certain individuals such as wearing fine particle filtering masks, and avoiding outdoor activity if excessive irritation starts to present itself.

Observing the whole of the month of August, it can be seen that a majority of the readings came in within the 'good' air quality bracket, indicating that at the mid to late stage of the year, Tha Muang has some cleaner qualities of air. Air quality readings from 2020 will be discussed at the end of the article, to demonstrate when pollution levels may be at their worst.

Why is there air pollution present throughout Tha Muang?

A majority of the main contributing factors to air pollution in Tha Muang would the ones that are usually found throughout the rest of Asia and other cities worldwide, albeit on a more noticeable scale due to less stringent measures in place regarding emission standards. These emissions would be ones coming from vehicles, with the fumes of the many engines permeating the air city, with many vehicles moving in and out daily, all causing the year-round ambient levels of air pollution to rise.

Large quantities of microscopic or ultrafine rubber particles are also released into the atmosphere from the gradual wear and tear of tire treads that they are subject to with usage over time. Cars, motorbikes and larger freight vehicles such as trucks and lorries all contributing to the phenomenon. Such fine particles can also fall onto the soil, as well as into nearby bodies of water, causing ecological and environmental damage, as well as polluting the air and causing danger to those that breathe said particles.

Other prominent causes would come from the factories and power plants, whose own combustion processes can often lead to heightened levels of air pollution, particularly if stringent measures are not put in place to combat excessive emissions.

The main source of the massive spikes in air pollution seen throughout Thailand, however, comes from the farmland and forest area fires that are a consistent problem in the country, but more so in the northern regions. Due to its location in the western side of Thailand, Tha Muang may also see this occur but to much less of a degree.

The smoke from fires in other provinces can potentially drift over to Tha Muang, also affecting a variety of other cities in the nearby region. With a subsequent lack of stronger winds during certain periods of the year, Tha Muang sees its air pollution levels spike up considerably, as the large amounts of haze, smoke and other contaminating particles start to elevate to more dangerous figures on the PM2.5 and US AQI rating chart.

What risks to health can occur from breathing polluted air in Tha Muang?

Exposure to higher levels of air pollution can bring about all manner of dangerous conditions, particularly to certain people who fall into the sensitive demographics group. Of note is that even healthier adults can succumb to the ill effects of air pollution, particularly when exposure is excessive, or takes place over a longer period (prominent for those who live near highly polluted areas such as industrial districts or near busy roads, whereby the air quality will be of lower quality for a majority of the year).

Some ailments that may arise as a result would be short-term ones such as dry throat and coughs, as well as chest pains and mild infections of the respiratory tract. These can however clear up quite fast when exposure to air pollution is halted, and they can be considered as more short-term or acute health issues. However, these can also develop into more long-term issues, with repeated chest infections and coughing leading to the scarring of lung tissue, which results in potential scarring and permanent decreases in full lung function.

Furthermore, the scarring or damage and inflammation to the tissue of the lungs can make one more vulnerable to a whole host of respiratory distress, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) presenting itself. This is an umbrella term that refers to a multitude of different lung and respiratory tract conditions, typically resulting in shortness of breath as well as making an individual at greater risk to severe damage from pollution exposure.

Some major ailments that fall under this COPD bracket are one such as pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema and aggravated forms of asthma. Other damage that can occur to the body includes cases of cancer, heightened risk of heart attacks, strokes and arrhythmias, as well as ischemic heart disease and many other cardiac or pulmonary conditions that can bring about a shortening of one’s life.

When is Tha Muang at its most heavily polluted?

Observing the PM2.5 readings taken over 2020, it can be seen that Tha Muang had its highest levels of air pollution in the months of January through to May, as well as October through to December. This is a common scenario in many cities in Thailand, once again more prominent in northern cities. The burning season begins towards the end of the year, and can cause the pollution levels to rise, well into the following year, before they abate to cleaner levels.

The most polluted months out of the above-mentioned ones were January, February and March, which all had PM2.5 readings of 66.8 μg/m³, 69.3 μg/m³ and 46.7 μg/m³, placing them into the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' and 'unhealthy' rating bracket, representing a period in which the air would be fairly hazardous to breathe and may trigger off many pre-existing health problems.

When is air cleanliness at its best in Tha Muang?

Despite the large spikes seen in the beginning of the year, Tha Muang entered into a period in which its air quality levels were significantly improved, falling well within the World Health Organization's (WHO's) target goal for the best level of air cleanliness at 10 μg/m³ or less.

June through to September had the cleanest readings, coming in with figures of 4.6 μg/m³, 2.4 μg/m³, 4.5 μg/m³ and 3.6 μg/m³. This put July in the cleanest spot for the year in 2020, with an extremely respectable reading of 2.4 μg/m³.