Bangkok (dpa) – A thick haze of smoke from burning farmland has worsened in northern Thailand, as authorities distributed hundreds of thousands of face masks and advised residents to say indoors, reports said Saturday. Health officials in Chiang Rai province, 765 kilometers north of Bangkok, distributed 500,000 masks to residents as more patients were admitted to hospitals for respiratory problems. “The problem has reached a critical level,” Chiang Rai governor Thanin Supasaeng was quoted as saying by the Nation newspaper. Officials in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district said the amount of dust particles in the air rose to 323.4 micrograms per cubic meter Friday, up from 305.6 micrograms a day earlier. Amounts of more than 120 micrograms are considered health hazards. Monwipa Sirihorachai, a public health official in the neighbouring province of Chiang Mai, said the thick haze had caused an upsurge in ailments such as conjunctivitis, asthma, allergies, skin inflammation, bronchitis and other respiratory disorders. “The number of patients with smog-related problems has jumped to 92,214 last month from 44,313 in the same period last year,” she said. She urged people to stay indoors and wear face masks and long sleeves if they have to go out. Health officials blamed farmers in Thailand and Myanmar for using the slash-and-burn method to clear land for the upcoming growing season. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/UtsLC Tags: Farming, Haze, Pollution, Thailand Section: East Asia, Environment
