Air quality issues in Bangkok led to the shutdown of over 350 schools on Friday, according to city officials, with the city being identified as the seventh-most polluted major city globally by air quality monitoring organization IQAir.
For many years, seasonal air pollution has been a persistent problem in Thailand, similar to various nations in the region, but the current week’s hazy atmosphere has caused schools to close, a situation not seen since 2020.
“The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has decided to shut down 352 schools across 31 districts due to poor air quality,” the department stated in a message posted in its official LINE communication group.
On Thursday, pollution levels prompted the closure of more than 250 schools in Bangkok, with officials recommending that individuals work from home and imposing restrictions on heavy vehicles within the city.
Air pollution hits the Southeast Asian nation seasonally, as colder, stagnant winter air combines with smoke from crop stubble burning and car fumes.
By Friday, the level of PM2.5 pollutants — cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs — hit 108 micrograms per cubic meter, according to IQAir.
The World Health Organization recommends 24-hour average exposures should not be more than 15 for most days of the year.
Bangkok officials announced this week that schools located in areas with high PM2.5 levels have the option to close.
By Friday morning, 352 out of 437 schools governed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority had closed, impacting thousands of students.
This number is the highest seen since 2020 when all schools under the city authority were shut down due to air pollution.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul issued a directive on Thursday prohibiting stubble burning— a practice of burning leftover crops for field clearance— warning that those who violate this could face legal consequences.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is presently at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, urged for stricter measures to combat pollution on Thursday, such as restricting construction in the capital and collaborating with neighboring countries.
On Friday, the largest cities in neighboring Vietnam and Cambodia were also featured in IQAir’s list of the top 10 most polluted major cities globally, with Ho Chi Minh City in second place and Phnom Penh in fifth.
Khvay Atitya, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Environment Ministry, informed reporters on Thursday that the air quality in the country remained within safe limits.
