A statue of a giant seated Buddha at Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen is barely visible due to the heavy air pollution in Bangkok on Friday. The Meteorological Department foresees a strong likelihood of rain from Friday to Sunday in the capital and its surrounding areas, the lower part of the North, the East and the Northeast due to a change of the northeasterly wind blowing from the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Rainfall would help ease the haze pollution. (Photo: Reuters)
Haze pollution forced several schools in Bangkok to close on Friday as the Public Health Ministry reported more than 370,000 patients had suffered from illnesses caused by inhaling ultra-fine dust particles (PM2.5).
Forty-three provinces, including Bangkok and its suburbs, remained blanketed in smog, with PM2.5 dust levels above the government's safe limit of 50 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³) on Friday, according to the Pollution Control Department (PCD).
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
