Thailand's government on January 24 deployed small aircrafts to spray white mist over the dense smog blanketing Bangkok in an effort to alleviate the city’s stifling air pollution.
Air pollution in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: nationthailand.com)
Hanoi (VNA) – Flying through Bangkok's cloudless blue skies, a small airc🦂raft sprays a white mist over a thick haze of pea soup smog belಞow.
Thailand's government on January 24 deployed small aircrafts to spray white mist over the dense smog blanketing Bangkok in an effort to alleviate the city’s stifling air pollution, which reached eight times the World Health Organisation's recommended daily maximum average.
The scourge has made more than one million people ill since late 2023 and cost Thailand more than 88 million USD in medical expenses, the Ministry of Public Health said earlier this month.
According to Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, the main culprits are vehicle emissions, crop burning in the wider region and closed weather conditions, a warm atmospheric lid covering the dust, preventing it from dispersing.
Twice a day, the Royal Rainmaking Department sends aircraft up to spray cold water or dry ice into the layer of warm air to cool it down.
The new technique was first used last year and is still in its testing stages. The dry ice (solidified carbon dioxide) is provided by Thailand's oil and gas giant PTT and other energy companies.
Another fossil fuel company, Bangkok Industrial Gas, also donated dry ice to the programme this month, with managing director Piyabut Charuphen saying in a statement the gift was part of their commitment to creating a sustainable future.
Carbon dioxide is itself a greenhouse gas and the environmental and health effects of spraying dry ice in the atmosphere are not fully understood.
One flight can cost up to 1,500 USD, and with aircraft taking off from three bases around the country, it can reach 9,000 USD per day./.
Over 100 schools in Thailand's Bangkok city have suspended in-person classes and shifted to online learning due to severe air pollution affecting the capital and over 60 provinces nationwide.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to tackle soil degradation in Thailand was signed recently as 33% of the country’s soil has been degraded, The Nation reported on January 22.
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The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
