Air quality in Watthana Nakhon

Is the air in Watthana Nakhon badly polluted?

Watthana Nakhon has seen moderate to high levels of air pollution in the early days of 2022, as well as having similar air pollution records in prior years. Although these are not as concise as readings that are taken after 2021 (due to more and more air quality data becoming available and thus accurate readings and records made in the form of yearly average PM2.5 readings, as well as the daily US AQI readings being highly indicative of how good, or bad the air quality in Watthana Nakhon is), they are likely to follow a similar trend to years past, natural disasters notwithstanding. To cite some more recent readings that indicate what the air quality is like within Watthana Nakhon, in mid-February of 2022 Watthana Nakhon presented with a US AQI reading of 93, placing it into the higher end of the 'moderate' air quality rating bracket, which requires a reading of anywhere between 51 to 100 to be classified as such. This rating is color-coded yellow, as with each air quality rating there is a correlating color that can act as a visual aid when referring to the various air quality maps, graphs and forecasts present throughout the IQAir website and on this page. The color gets significantly darker as the US AQI reading, or PM2.5 concentration increases, ranging from green for the 'good' air quality rating, up to maroon for the hazardous air quality rating, the highest one that can be reached. When a reading that is classified as hazardous is present, the air pollution presents a significant risk to everyone who is exposed, as well as some fairly severe environmental effects due to the prominent threats that certain ultrafine particles and chemical pollutants can pose to plant and animal life, as well as also having a warming effect on the environment.

With its US AQI reading of 93 taken in mid-February, Watthana Nakhon can be considered as not being severely polluted by any means, especially when compared to other cities in Thailand that are more heavily affected by smoke clouds that drift over from slash and burn farming sites (an ongoing issue that is a consistently hot topic within Thailand, often because despite being highly illegal, it still manages to continue, due to these fires often taking place either in hard to reach areas or under at night), the air quality could certainly be improved upon. Caution should still be exercised for inhabitants of Watthana Nakhon, with preventative measures such as the wearing of fine particle filtering masks and avoiding outdoor activities, particularly strenuous ones such as jogging or other forms of exercise, all aiding greatly in the reduction of pollution-related diseases and other health issues.

Is it dangerous to breathe polluted air in Watthana Nakhon and what are some consequences?

Breathing excessive amounts of polluted air in Watthana Nakhon can indeed have many adverse health effects. Some of the more common health issues include dry coughs and accompanying chest infections, along with some ailments that fall under the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) bracket. These include asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and pneumonia, all of which can be both caused, and made significantly worse by breathing excessive (or even smaller) amounts of pollution in Watthana Nakhon. Other issues include early deaths linked directly to pollution exposure, with terminal illnesses such as various forms of cancer contributing to this. Heart attacks, strokes and many other pulmonary or cardiac issues may present themselves, which can shorten life expectancy as well as one's quality of life by any amount ranging from negligible (or unnoticeable) up to being completely debilitating and chopping many years off of the life of affected individuals.

Who is at higher risk for polluted-related illnesses in Watthana Nakhon?

People that are affected the most by air pollution exposure in Watthana Nakhon include the elderly, along with young children, pregnant mothers, as well as those that have pre-existing health conditions or compromised immune systems. Extra care should be taken by these groups to ensure that more chronic or acute conditions are avoided.

What are some of the main air pollutants found in Watthana Nakhon?

Some more prominent pollutants that can be found in areas around Watthana Nakhon as well as surrounding cities in the eastern region of Thailand, particularly within Sa Kaeo province include ones that come predominantly from combustion sources. These can include ones such as the nationwide issue of open burn fires, as mentioned previously (although of note this Watthana Nakhon and surrounding cities far less, and is much more prevalent in northern regions of the country as well as in other provincial areas that still have larger amounts of farmland present), combustion from vehicle engines as well as boilers in factories and other industrial sites. Some of the main pollutants released when any form of combustion takes place are ones such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as black carbon, along with other pollutants that go into calculating the US AQI aggregate. The chemicals used to calculate this US AQI figure include nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, as well as the two main forms of particle pollution, PM2.5 and PM10. Of these two, the smaller PM2.5 is well known as the far more dangerous, due to its minute size of 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter allowing it to bypass the bodies defense systems and lodge deep within the tissue of the lungs (with more on this being discussed in the following health issues question). PM2.5 and some forms of PM10 can consist of materials such as water droplets and vapor, along with a variety of other liquids that can be aerosolized. Other materials include mold and fungal spores, bacteria, metals, nitrates and sulfates, along with finely ground silica dust, which can have a carcinogenic effect when inhaled. Some examples of the aforementioned VOCs include chemical compounds such as benzene, styrene, methylene chloride, toluene, xylene and formaldehyde. Their volatile nature allows them to maintain a gaseous state at much lower temperatures, thus making them much easier to breathe, and would be encountered prevalently around inhabited areas of Watthana Nakhon, due to their discharge from everything from fires, cars, factories as well as even from household items. VOCs are one of the major sources of indoor air pollution and can emanate from products such as glue, paint, varnish, as well as aerosols such as deodorant, scented candles and other toiletries. These are some of the more prevalent air pollutants that may be found around Watthana Nakhon, with certain areas such as busy roads and intersections that see a high level of rush hour traffic having higher concentrations of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone and black carbon.

When is the air most likely to be more polluted in Watthana Nakhon?

The air quality in Watthana Nakhon will most likely have its highest readings appear towards the end of the year. Furthermore, the early months of the following year also usually show significantly higher readings of air pollution in the form of the aforementioned US AQI and PM2.5 concentrations. This is based on readings taken from cities all over Thailand, a larger amount of them seeing consistent patterns each year. Although there are a few exceptions (with some cities seeing ambient levels of relatively high air pollution throughout the year, but lacking the dangerous spikes that are seen in the aforementioned times of the year), Watthana Nakhon is most likely to see the higher air pollution levels at these times (the last few months of the year, typically starting around September, but potentially earlier, all the way through to the end of the year. Furthermore, the early months of the following year continue to see heightened pollution readings, with some of the highest figures of US AQI and PM2.5 cropping up from through to March or even April. As was mentioned, changes can always occur and air quality readings should be kept up to date, with these being available both on this page as well as the AirVisual app.