Dubai Telegraph - Every breath a struggle, as air pollution harms health in Thailand

EUR -
AED 3.879454
AFN 71.766172
ALL 98.446538
AMD 408.727287
ANG 1.903424
AOA 962.189651
ARS 1055.136057
AUD 1.630409
AWG 1.901181
AZN 1.789518
BAM 1.961728
BBD 2.132343
BDT 126.201335
BGN 1.9588
BHD 0.398064
BIF 3118.741826
BMD 1.056211
BND 1.421281
BOB 7.297188
BRL 6.105428
BSD 1.056091
BTN 89.136639
BWP 14.496666
BYN 3.456143
BYR 20701.745225
BZD 2.128773
CAD 1.480962
CDF 3026.046048
CHF 0.937129
CLF 0.037557
CLP 1036.439301
CNY 7.636301
CNH 7.645963
COP 4727.78219
CRC 539.429963
CUC 1.056211
CUP 27.989605
CVE 110.599191
CZK 25.276513
DJF 188.054673
DKK 7.458575
DOP 63.873001
DZD 141.196108
EGP 52.131744
ERN 15.843172
ETB 130.910644
FJD 2.402194
FKP 0.833686
GBP 0.831777
GEL 2.883565
GGP 0.833686
GHS 16.976135
GIP 0.833686
GMD 74.991397
GNF 9102.504493
GTQ 8.155953
GYD 220.943428
HKD 8.217753
HNL 26.666577
HRK 7.53423
HTG 138.767993
HUF 406.15981
IDR 16809.289017
ILS 3.948874
IMP 0.833686
INR 89.180057
IQD 1383.48038
IRR 44458.579959
ISK 146.095547
JEP 0.833686
JMD 167.185173
JOD 0.748958
JPY 164.521312
KES 136.515348
KGS 91.231852
KHR 4289.881246
KMF 492.563931
KPW 950.589942
KRW 1479.650439
KWD 0.32489
KYD 0.880043
KZT 523.582077
LAK 23200.543009
LBP 94573.658376
LKR 308.542304
LRD 194.845062
LSL 19.330811
LTL 3.118718
LVL 0.638891
LYD 5.158587
MAD 10.547972
MDL 19.130443
MGA 4948.044906
MKD 61.515768
MMK 3430.533723
MNT 3589.00659
MOP 8.466021
MRU 41.984863
MUR 49.842827
MVR 16.318166
MWK 1831.198548
MXN 21.74186
MYR 4.732353
MZN 67.489547
NAD 19.330811
NGN 1774.287045
NIO 38.86892
NOK 11.740652
NPR 142.624361
NZD 1.797365
OMR 0.406676
PAB 1.056111
PEN 4.024312
PGK 4.184644
PHP 62.056118
PKR 293.325825
PLN 4.325535
PYG 8247.922253
QAR 3.849933
RON 4.976236
RSD 117.044056
RUB 105.092045
RWF 1449.953783
SAR 3.967208
SBD 8.854807
SCR 14.362927
SDG 635.317643
SEK 11.596225
SGD 1.417832
SHP 0.833686
SLE 24.097471
SLL 22148.231865
SOS 603.523631
SRD 37.343937
STD 21861.445383
SVC 9.240923
SYP 2653.762908
SZL 19.339168
THB 36.814269
TJS 11.257603
TMT 3.707302
TND 3.335479
TOP 2.473748
TRY 36.27907
TTD 7.170667
TWD 34.391332
TZS 2809.522312
UAH 43.536853
UGX 3875.711004
USD 1.056211
UYU 44.865568
UZS 13525.870313
VES 47.523829
VND 26827.771874
VUV 125.395551
WST 2.94851
XAF 657.932577
XAG 0.034763
XAU 0.000412
XCD 2.854464
XDR 0.795596
XOF 657.976316
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.843317
ZAR 19.268254
ZMK 9507.174232
ZMW 28.963064
ZWL 340.099669
  • CMSC

    0.0200

    24.63

    +0.08%

  • SCS

    -0.2100

    13.16

    -1.6%

  • GSK

    -0.0050

    35.105

    -0.01%

  • BP

    0.3550

    28.925

    +1.23%

  • CMSD

    0.0170

    24.747

    +0.07%

  • BTI

    0.2650

    35.685

    +0.74%

  • AZN

    0.6000

    65.89

    +0.91%

  • RBGPF

    -0.9400

    59.25

    -1.59%

  • RIO

    -0.1100

    60.51

    -0.18%

  • BCC

    -3.0000

    139.55

    -2.15%

  • JRI

    -0.0470

    13.193

    -0.36%

  • RYCEF

    -0.3100

    6.8

    -4.56%

  • BCE

    -0.0960

    27.114

    -0.35%

  • VOD

    -0.0300

    8.72

    -0.34%

  • RELX

    0.0750

    46.195

    +0.16%

  • NGG

    0.5250

    62.645

    +0.84%

Every breath a struggle, as air pollution harms health in Thailand
Every breath a struggle, as air pollution harms health in Thailand / Photo: Lillian SUWANRUMPHA - AFP

Every breath a struggle, as air pollution harms health in Thailand

An elderly patient hooked up to a tangle of tubes lies struggling for breath in a Bangkok hospital as Thailand battles a "drastic increase" in respiratory problems caused by a spike in air pollution.

Text size:

His wife holds his hand and strokes his face, with a nurse in blue scrubs listening to his chest through a stethoscope.

Every single breath is an exertion.

About 2.4 million people in Thailand have needed treatment for medical problems linked to air pollution since the start of the year, including nearly 200,000 this week alone, according to health officials.

Bangkok and the northern city of Chiang Mai were among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world on Friday, according to air quality monitoring firm IQAir.

Piamlarp Sangsayunh, a respiratory disease specialist at the Central Chest Institute of Thailand in Nonthaburi, says she has seen a "drastic increase in patients since February".

"The patients usually have respiratory problems like coughing and sore throats," she told AFP on Friday, adding that eye irritation is also common.

Elderly people are among the most vulnerable to air pollution, which can exacerbate existing conditions, sometimes requiring them to be put on oxygen machines, she said.

But she said those working outdoors -- such as Bangkok's vast army of street vendors and motorbike taxi drivers -- were the ones "on the front line" of the crisis.

- Toxic air -

Uraiwan Chantana, who sells fish balls on the street in Bangkok's central shopping district, said breathing in toxic air every day made her exhausted, but she could not shut her stall because she had no other way to earn money.

"I feel a burning pain inside my nose and I regularly cough," she told AFP.

"I feel out of breath when I climb stairs when I normally didn't."

World Health Organisation representative to Thailand Jos Vandelaer said air pollution was not solely a health issue but also dented economic productivity.

"If people are sick they can't go to work, there will be a reduction in economic activity," he told AFP.

The economic cost of air pollution in Thailand in 2019 was equal to $63.1 billion or 11 percent of gross domestic product, according to Kasetsart University environmental economist Witsanu Attavanich.

One of the biggest concerns are tiny particles known as PM2.5, smaller than the diameter of a hair, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and even reach the bloodstream.

According to IQAir, in 2022 the average PM2.5 concentration in Thailand was 3.6 times the WHO's annual air quality guideline limits.

"In the long term, there are more risks for respiratory infections... If people have asthma that can get worse, people can develop chronic lung diseases, even lung cancer," Vandelaer said.

"What is less well known is that this PM2.5 can cause cardiovascular diseases... increase the risk of a stroke or heart attack."

Air pollution was a factor in about 31,000 deaths in 2019 in Thailand according to WHO data.

Smoke from forest fires, farmers burning crop stubble, as well as vehicle emissions and heavy industry-generated fumes, are among the main causes of toxic smog in the kingdom.

The El Nino weather pattern is also exacerbating the haze problem in Southeast Asia, experts say.

Thailand is home to more than 70 million people and its poor air quality is a growing issue ahead of the country's May 14 election, with the incumbent government accused of not doing enough.

"We need to fix the problem at the roots, as a doctor I'm just on the receiving end dealing with the consequences," Piamlarp said.

Vandelaer said more regulation was needed to address fires and polluters, adding that individuals should also think about how their transportation and lifestyle choices affected air quality.

Bangkok motorcycle taxi driver Tip Panyangam, 59, said he often felt unwell from the smog despite wearing a double mask.

"I want the people in power to reduce it because I am worried about my health," he told AFP.

F.El-Yamahy--DT