Air pollution in Bangkok has reached hazardous levels, prompting the closure of more than 350 schools across the Thai capital on Friday, city authorities reported. The city’s air quality was ranked as the seventh-worst in the world by the air quality monitor IQAir.
Seasonal air pollution has long been a recurring issue in Thailand, particularly during the winter months when cold, stagnant air traps smoke from crop stubble burning and car exhaust fumes. This week’s severe pollution led to the closure of 352 schools across 31 districts, a significant number that marks the highest closure rate since 2020.
The air quality in the city worsened, with the concentration of PM2.5 pollutants—tiny, cancer-causing particles—reaching 108 micrograms per cubic meter on Friday. The World Health Organization recommends that the 24-hour average exposure to PM2.5 should not exceed 15 micrograms for most days of the year.
As a result, Bangkok’s authorities have urged residents to work from home and imposed restrictions on heavy vehicles in the city to limit further pollution. Schools located in areas with elevated PM2.5 levels were allowed to decide whether to close, and by Friday morning, 352 of the 437 schools under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had shut down, affecting thousands of students.
In response to the worsening pollution, Thailand’s Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered a ban on stubble burning, a common practice of burning crop leftovers to clear fields. Those found responsible for such burning could face legal action.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, currently attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, called for stronger measures to address the pollution, including limiting construction in the capital and seeking regional cooperation from neighboring countries.
Other Southeast Asian nations are also grappling with high pollution levels, with Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Phnom Penh in Cambodia both ranking among the top ten most-polluted major cities in the world. Cambodia’s Environment Ministry, however, stated that the air quality in the country was still within safe levels, with no emergency measures being issued.
As the pollution crisis continues to affect the region, residents and governments are calling for effective solutions to mitigate the health risks posed by the toxic air.
