Thick smoke billows over burning forest as air pollution worsens in Thailand

Thick smoke billowed over a burning forest as air pollution worsened in Thailand today. Footage shows the fumes smouldering from several patches in the woodlands in Lamphun province on March 8. Pilot Athayuth Khaosaard was flying a tour helicopter when he noticed the blaze. He said: ‘The smoke hurt my eyes and nose. It was so bad. I reported it to the authorities. I hope they can control it immediately.' Thailand's hopelessly inefficient government pen-pushers will hold a meeting on March 15 to discuss fires and air pollution. Jatuporn Buruspat, from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said the problems of agricultural fires and PM2.5 dust have become critical in the past week. He listed that most forest fire hotspots are near farming areas, communities, land reform plots, and highways. Air pollution has been a continuous problem in Thailand as records showed alarming levels of PM2.5 dust particles triggered mostly by transportation and biomass burning. Smog is at its worst in the country between January and March when farmers burn crops and there is a winter low-pressure system in which cold air is trapped closer to the ground by warm air above – preventing the pollution from being dispersed naturally. The Thai government has been criticised for handling the country's air pollution crisis – failing to tackle the problem for three consecutive years.