Chiang Mai on Wednesday morning had the world’s worst air quality.
On the way to Maejo University
Infront of Maejo University ChiangMai
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Agricultural Service · Farm
A Survivor’s Guide to Chiang Mai’s Burning Season
Ryan Zander
March 2019
Every year it’s the same story in Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand: as the cool season draws to an end around late February or early March, the air quality quickly takes a turn for the worse. Yes, the “smoky season”—otherwise known as Chiang Mai’s “burning season”—is back again.
If you’re a new arrival to the city, you might have many questions: “What causes the smoke?”, “How bad does it get?”, “How long does it last?”, “Should I go somewhere else?”, etc.
As someone who has lived through many a smoky season—going back to 2002—I feel qualified to weigh in on this topic and give some advice. So let’s get right to it…
When is the smoky season in Chiang Mai?
The smoky season in Northern Thailand and the surrounding parts of Southeast Asia generally occurs during the months of February, March, and April.
The exact timing and severity of the haze is different every year because it is dependent on human activity and the weather.
The rainy season in this region is typically over by November, and so the air can start to get more hazy as early as December. It doesn’t usually become problematic, though, until late February or early March.
On the tail end, the haze doesn’t fully clear until the burning stops and rains come to wash the pollution out of the sky.
The real start of the rainy season isn’t until June, but there is usually enough rain in May to clear things up considerably. Hot season flash-storms in March and April can also help provide temporary relief for a couple days.
The smoky season consistently reaches it’s peak in the second half of March, and the air is usually much improved after the mid-April Songkran holiday. But there have been years where the hazy air has lingered on well into May.
The air in Chiang Mai is quite good for about ten months of the year. The other two, however, can frankly be quite terrible. Just compare the two photos below of Doi Suthep taken from the same vantage point—one during the rainy season and the other at the height of burning season smog.
The mountainous terrain of Northern Thailand causes the smoky air to stay trapped in the valleys and gradually increase in pollution levels as the dry season progresses.
The bordering areas of Myanmar and Laos face the same problem. They have similar terrain and similar human and natural causes that add to the total air pollution level in the region.
Although sugar cane is not extensively grown in the North, the practice of burning sugar cane fields in Central and Northeast Thailand and in Cambodia also contributes significantly to the region’s pollution woes.
How bad is the air during Chiang Mai’s burning season?
The severity of the pollution problem can vary greatly from year-to-year and day-to-day within any single year. A large forest fire or crop-burning can spike the pollution level overnight, while a strong rainstorm or shift in wind currents can clear much of the dust from the air just as quickly.
The best way to monitor pollution levels is to install the AirVisual app on your phone. Their huge user base allows them to collect an incredible number of live Air Quality Index (AQI) readings from all over the globe.
My favorite feature of the app is the AirVisual Earth global map, which shows current wind patterns over color-coded AQI regions. It really helps you visualize just how stagnant the air in Northern Thailand can get at this time of year compared to the coastal areas.
You can also check real-time AQI readings for Chiang Mai at aqicn.org or chiangmaiair.org.
During the month of March, AQI levels in Chiang Mai regularly fall in the 150-200 “Unhealthy” range in which “Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects”.
At “Unhealthy” levels, AQICN recommends “Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion”.
When the AQI spikes to 300+ the recommendation changes to “Everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion”.
In late March 2019, there were several days where the recorded AQI levels from sensors in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas peaked above 600. At this level the air looks like a thick brownish-gray fog and stings the nose with a burnt odor.
Air quality tends to be worse in the mornings. Fires are often set in forests at night under the cover of darkness, and overnight cool temperatures make the polluted air heavier and sink down into the valleys. In the afternoons, the midday sun can heat up the air to “burn off” some of the smog for a slight improvement.
Is the burning season in Chiang Mai really that bad?
YES!
You may encounter a few strongly-opinionated members of the expat community on social media who claim to be completely unaffected by the smog and belittle anyone who believes it to be a serious health hazard.
For your own benefit, don’t listen to these stubborn folk and take the necessary steps to protect your short-term and long-term health.
The smoke is especially dangerous for young children, the elderly, and anyone who has ever suffered from asthma symptoms.
Hospital visits spike at this time every year, as people complain of sore throats, itchy eyes, coughing, sneezing, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
Longterm, there is some evidence that yearly exposure to seasonal smog doubles the lung cancer risk among Chiang Mai’s residents.
The smoke has been thick enough in the past to cause cancellation of flights scheduled to arrive at Chiang Mai International Airport and other regional airports due to a lack of visibility.
If the smog gets thick enough to hide runways and entire mountains from view, just think about what that’s doing to the inside of your body.
Should you leave town during the smoky season?
I always do—at least for the worst few weeks of it.
Once I can no longer see the mountain clearly from the center of town, I take it as a signal to head down south.
Thank you : https://iglu.net/survivor-guide-chiang-mai-smoky-season/
Curcuma Alismatifolia
Siam tulip or summer tulip is a tropical plant native to Laos, northern Thailand, and Cambodia. Despite its name, it is not related to the tulip, but to the various ginger species such as turmeric. It can grow as an indoor plant, and is also sold as a cut flower.
We came from the road to back yard .
Back yard
Water supply
We cannot walk trough the bush , grasses are too long
Up the hill
Teak Tree 30 Years , A few of them left
Teak Tree 20 Years ,
Teak Tree , We had around 200 left
