Pattaya, Thailand-
It’s that time of year again, which seems to come nearly every December in Pattaya.
Wait, Christmas, you say? New Year’s? Hardly.
It is clouds of haze and air pollution that reduce visibility and have adverse health effects that yearly, despite continual promises from authorities to control the problem, continue to coat the tourism-reliant city of Pattaya (and, to be fair, many other parts of Thailand) in a cloud of smog, haze, smoke, dust, and other materials.
We cover this issue fairly often here at TPN media, like here last week, or here two weeks ago, but we wanted to make sure that it continues to get press and attention, even as much focus is on the Omicron Covid-19 variant or various holiday events taking place. We have had multiple letters and comments made to us over the past several days, with some stating that, in their opinion, the haze was near the worst they had seen.
Earlier this month, the Deputy Prime Minister pledged tighter measures to fight air pollution issues in Thailand, but, so far, it remains to be seen if this will lead to real action.
This pledge came not long after the Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan O’Cha, pledged to increase the focus on COP26 on climate change issues like air pollution. This pledge took place in Scotland with many other world leaders.
This is, as mentioned, hardly a new problem, as this article from us last winter shows, which also explains where much of the pollution is coming from.
Although hardly the only cause of the pollution, here is an excerpt from one of our articles covering the issue and a major cause in 2020:
The Pattaya News notes that this annual problem has been getting worse yearly and goes far beyond vehicle pollution or “tourists” for the Pattaya area. The Department of Air Pollution Control in Bangkok has admitted the majority of the problem is the burning of both fields and garbage, primarily well outside of Pattaya, but due to the number of burning materials drifts to the Pattaya area.
Social media users on both Thai and English forums have stated numerous times and in many comments that until government officials crack down and enforce against field burning which takes place seasonally at this time of year across Thailand and garbage burning, which is against the law for the former and regulated for the latter, the problem will continue. The root cause of the problem must be addressed to resolve the issue for the future and not to wait for rain or wind to help the problem go away.
One suggestion that has been popular on social media is for the government to target the large corporations that purchase the sugarcane burned across Thailand. Instead of going after farms, which is more difficult especially in rural areas, the government should target the sugar cane buyers, fining and conducting legal action if they are found to accept burnt sugar cane from sellers. This would, in turn, cause the sugar cane farmers to adapt to different, more environmentally friendly, methods to procure sugarcane.
For now, unfortunately, it seems local residents will need to wear proper masks when outside for far more than Covid, and especially the vulnerable should limit outdoor exercise while another year passes with residents waiting for real action from local, regional, and national authorities to tackle the problem.
Adam Judd, TPN Media
