VZCZCXRO6808
PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHCHI #0050/01 0880040
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 280040Z MAR 08
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0715
INFO RUEAEPA/EPA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0771

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000050 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EAP/EX 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR AMED TH BM
SUBJECT: HAZARDOUS AIR QUALITY ON THE RISE IN NORTHERN THAILAND 
 
REF: A. A. 2007 CHIANG MAI 41 
 
     ¶B. B. 2007 CHIANG MAI 51 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000050  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. With poor air quality levels surpassing the safety threshold, 
Chiang Mai and the northern provinces of Thailand are facing 
another hazy March.  Small dust particle (PM10) measurements 
have peaked at hazardous levels sparking a concerned response 
from the Royal household.  Post staff and families have felt the 
impact of the poor air quality in a wave of respiratory 
illnesses.  While a cloud of haze blankets the city, however, 
public warnings of potential dangers remain low.  At present, 
poor air quality continues to rise and will likely worsen before 
it improves with the coming of the rainy season expected in 
early May.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
PM10 Climbs to Hazardous Levels 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2. March is known in Chiang Mai for rising temperatures and 
declining air quality (refs A and B).  This March is no 
different, with hazardous air quality levels on the rise, a 
result primarily of slash-and-burn farming techniques still 
practiced in northern Thailand and Burma.  The air quality is 
measured by the level of dust particles smaller than 10 microns 
in the air, termed PM10.  When the level of PM10 in the air is 
below 120 micrograms per cubic meter, the Pollution Control 
Department of Thailand deems the level of dust "safe." 
 
¶3. So far this year, PM10 levels peaked twice, first from March 
6 to 7 and again on March 24.  During the first peak in early 
March, the three air quality monitoring stations located in 
Chiang Mai reported levels as high as 141, 138, and 144 
micrograms per cubic meter.  On March 24, the levels climbed to 
154, 170 and 206 micrograms per cubic meter.  These published 
PM10 levels are daily averages of hourly measurements.  Certain 
times in the day, especially dusk, face higher PM10 levels; but 
these peaks are lost in the averaging system.  The three 
monitoring sites in Chiang Mai are located at the Provincial 
Hall, the Yupparat School, and the Royal Family's Phuping Palace 
atop Doi Suthep mountain at the city's edge. 
 
------------------------ 
A Royal Pain in the Neck 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. The Phuping Palace monitoring station, set up in February 
because of concerns of forest fires erupting dangerously close 
to the palace grounds, suggests high-level RTG awareness of the 
air quality crisis.  Phuping Palace is the Royal family's summer 
home in Chiang Mai, and is located atop Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai's 
landmark mountain which sits barely visible behind the thick 
cloud of haze blanketing the city.  This March's PM10 levels 
have caught the attention of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has 
requested daily reports on the haze situation in the north.  In 
remarks that made front-page news March 26, the King told the 
press that if the situation did not improve, he would order 
artificial rainmaking to relieve the air pollution. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Consulate Staff Under the Weather 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. Post staff has already felt the impact of declining air 
quality in the city.  Both American and Thai staff and family 
members have reported becoming sick with respiratory ailments 
and eye irritation.  At least 10 members of the Consulate 
community have visited post's nurse with respiratory problems 
since March 7.  Symptoms have included severe coughing, sinus 
and respiratory infections, allergy attacks, and eye irritation. 
 According to the Pollution Control Department, PM10 is among 
the most harmful air pollutants, causing many kinds of 
respiratory illnesses due to dust particles that get lodged deep 
in the lungs. 
 
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Comment 
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¶6. Because official PM10 levels are reported as averages, 
variation of air quality levels throughout any given day are 
lost, and daily levels can appear artificially low.  Moreover, 
the paucity of public warnings of hazardous air quality, 
combined with falsely reassuring announcements from the 
provincial government that air conditions are still far from 
hazardous, leave much of the public unconcerned of the dangers 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000050  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
of breathing the air outside.  Meanwhile, PM10 levels continue 
to rise; and air quality could likely worsen before it improves 
with the coming of the rainy season expected in early May. 
MORROW