Some locals and visitors have been wearing face masks which seems a wise move as officials say pollution levels are high. The smoke comes from burning forests in Indonesia and is an annual problem caused by farmers there employing rudimentary slash-and-burn procedures to clear land for crops.
Songkhla Environment Office head Halem Jemarican said the haze was worst in the province and that another six provinces were seeing unhealthy levels of air pollution. He explained that the smog covering Thailand was unusually bad this year because winds were strong where the fires were burning in Indonesia, but not here and so it lingers.
The Thai national pollution control division has released a statement saying Indonesia needs to take action on the fires and thereby reduce haze and pollution levels. The health ministry says it has given out 55,000 face masks to people living in the southern region and plans to send more in the very near future.
The attached Phuketwan image shows the haze lingering above one of Phuket’s best-known beaches.
Smog continues to shroud southern Thai peninsula
News in Asia
Meteorologists in southern Thailand say the worst smog in the past 10 years is covering the whole area. The smog caused the cancellation of some flights to holiday hotspots like Koh Samui and Phuket yesterday.