PM2.5 in Thailand Explained | The role of pre-harvest sugarcane burning in air pollution
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2024
- Every year over the months of January, February and March, #PM2.5 air pollution chokes #Thailand and southeast Asia. This video will examine the science, causes, and solutions to PM2.5 in Thailand. I’ll answer the questions of: What is PM2.5 and how do we measure it? Why is PM2.5 bad for our health? What’s the cause of PM2.5 in Thailand and what can we do about it?
PM2.5 can be categorized as either primary or secondary, depending on their source and how they form. Major sources of primary aerosols include vehicle exhaust and biomass burning, as well as dust from construction sites, unpaved roads, or even desert winds. Secondary aerosols, are formed as a result of chemical processes. Volatile chemicals, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, interact with things like hydroxyl radicals and sunlight, which leads to the creation of tiny particles. These sulfur and nitrogen oxides are pollutants emitted from automobiles, power plants, and industries.
The units for PM2.5 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 can be monitored remotely using satellites or measured on the ground using air quality monitoring stations. PM2.5 concentrations can also be converted to an Air Quality Index, or AQI.
The main source of PM2.5 in Thailand is biomass burning. Multiple studies have demonstrated this. Thailand is the fourth-largest produced or sugar in the world and second-largest exporter of sugar. However, high labor costs during harvesting makes sugarcane farming unprofitable for many farmers. In order to minimize labor costs, preharvest sugarcane burning is used to make harvesting easier. This practice of preharvest #sugarcane #burning is a major contributor to PM2.5 levels in Thailand.
0:00 Introduction
1:20 What is PM2.5?
1:47 What is PM2.5 made of?
3:34 Sources of PM2.5
4:56 Why is PM2.5 bad for our health?
5:50 How do we measure PM2.5?
9:10 Why is PM2.5 so bad in Thailand?
11:27 Why is sugarcane burned?
13:07 What can we do to improve PM2.5 in Thailand?
***Sources:
Secondary Particulate Matter in the United States: Insights from the Particulate Matter Supersites Program and Related Studies | www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/1...
Evolution of PM2.5 Measurements and Standards in the U.S. and Future Perspectives for China | doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2012.11....
Characterization of PM2.5 Major Components and Source Investigation in Suburban Hong Kong: A One Year Monitoring Study | aaqr.org/articles/aaqr-13-01-...
Association between PM2.5 and risk of hospitalization for myocardial infarction: a systematic review and a meta-analysis | bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral...
Epidemiological time series studies of PM2.5 and daily mortality and hospital admissions: a systematic review and meta-analysis | thorax.bmj.com/content/69/7/660
The Impact of PM2.5 on the Host Defense of Respiratory System | www.frontiersin.org/articles/...
Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 | www.thelancet.com/action/show...
Revised Air Quality Standards For Particle Pollution And Updates To The Air Quality Index (AQI) | www.epa.gov/sites/production/...
A Beginner's Guide to Air Quality Instant-Cast and Now-Cast | aqicn.org/faq/2015-03-15/air-...
Research project on “A Study in Urban Air Pollution Improvement in Asia” | www.jica.go.jp/jica-ri/public...
Identifying the Sources of Winter Air Pollution in Bangkok Part II | towardsdatascience.com/identi...
Estimation of Reduced Air Emissions as a Result of the Implementation of the Measure to Reduce Burned Sugarcane in Thailand | www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/4/366
Burning dilemma: Sugarcane farmers struggle in Thailand’s green vision | southeastasiaglobe.com/thaila...
Bungling govt is losing the PM2.5 war | www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...
New sugar policy has a bitter taste | www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...
Sweetness & Power (13) - With air pollution invisible in Isaan, millions will be breathing unhealthy air | isaanrecord.com/2019/09/23/sw...
Sweetness & Power (7) - Thailand dreams of a sugary future as farmers struggle to survive | isaanrecord.com/2019/09/13/sw... - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Thanks for the explanation. This was very educational and informative.
Awesome! Glad it was useful
Links to sources and further reading are in the description. If you like it, please share. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video, thanks for the virtual lecture on this matter *shared*
Thank You So Much for a truly Excellent Video Production, You are sincerely appreciated. I was planning to live in Pattaya/Jomtien for a few years, ready to go this year, WHEN this Air Pollution Issue seemed to getting far worse than ever before. Now, my plans are on hold to see, 1. Elections Results and 2. What it might mean to mitigating the Air Pollution Problems. The risk in PM2.5 is far too high to even think about re locating., My feeling is this is a massive problem, the Sugar Cane Growers have been Burn/Harvesting for centuries, so it will never change. The Equipment, Training , Labor, Maintenance is a total cost NO One will bear. No One.
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!!!!!! Thank you for putting this together. 🙏🏼
Glad you liked it. Share it with others 😊
Thankyou for this excellent production. I wish more Thai people would become aware of the terrible impact of the crop burning and the damage it is doing to our children.
Yes thank you. It’s in English so that the world can have access to this information. But we also added professional Thai language subtitles so that Thai only speakers also have access to this information. Thanks for watching!
@@AnthonyKuster Excellent. This is the main reason we are considering moving from Thailand after so many years here. Our remaining option is Phuket. All other options seemed choked by smog for 5 months a year including almost all the islands north of Phuket (samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Chang). Very sad.
thanks, interesting, another way could be to de-incentivize the production of sugar cane in favour of other crops
Very good b´video. Hopefully it informs people.
Yes, thank you
Yep, taking years off our lives to save some baht. Farmers need to be subsidized or it will never get better.
Thanks
I have lived in Chiang Mai for almost a year and no one has ever given me such clear information regarding the pollution issue. I had no idea it was primarily due to sugar cane.
Thank you for the information.
Do you have a recommendation for a pm2.5 mask available in Thailand?
Good video explaining PM2.5 but how do you protect yourself during these 3 months ? Will PM2.5 face masks reduce some of the PM2.5 particles ? Do you NOT go out at all ?
Yes, the best thing you can do is don your PM2.5 respirator. I bought a Respro Pollution Mask. You can see a picture of it at the end of the video. There are other brands, too. For PM2.5 it has so be a respirator, meaning it has a tight-fitting face seal. They're reusable and washable. Whatever you're looking for, though, needs to have a one-way exhaust valve.
มีบทแปลเป็นภาษาไทย ดูแล้วทำให้เข้าได้ง่ายขึ้น ครับ ขอบคุณครับ
ยินดี
I bought a Xiaomi air filter last year when I noticed that my breathing was affected. Sitting right next to it typing, when I turned it on, it showed 125. And this is in a room that was filtered over night, the window and door has only been open for an hour or so.... I wish you could have someone do a Thai voice over so I can show my inlaws. I struggle to explain how bad the burning is ...
We have professional Thai sub-titles, so if they can read, please turn them on share!
It's from Jan to May... May 8th now and still lots of burning, air is 🗑
When we see the smoke and haze from biomass burning, are we seeing PM2.5, or is the PM2.5 so small that it is invisible so that the haze that we see is actually other constituent parts of smoke from biomass burning?
Great question! So when you actually see smoke (so, directly emanating from the fire), you are likely seeing particles with a mixture of sizes, including small PM2.5 particles up to large pieces of ash. Does it ever “snow” ash at your house from rice chaff burning? The larger particles settle out. The larger they are, the faster they fall. PM2.5 (aerosols), however, generally don’t settle. Rain is really the only way they’re removed en masse.
However, when it is hazy.. so when you’re trying to look a long distance and it’s whitish and blurry.. that is because the air is full of PM2.5.
@@AnthonyKuster Explains it nicely!Thank you.
I am fairly certain they are subject to chemtrails in Thailand, and when i analyze PM 2.5 and PM 10 under a microscope, it is 90+% chemtrail particulates which have been cubic salt-like crystals and plastic/glass type extrusions that appear like icicles or tangles of yarn. And this is far away from any cities, industry, or plant life. And it is the same year round. Before 2000, i never had dust in my home. Now, its a chronic daily condition. And it comes down heaviest about 1 hour after they spray the skies. So, there is clear correlation. This is not fly over country. Planes either land or take off here, yet the planes spray from horizon to horizon. 350 blue skies per year became 5-7. Southerly became northerly winds. Anyway, this science doesn't seem to be of any substance compared to the science people can do themselves with a microscope. I have talked to a dozen others around the world, and we see the same types of particulates. Get a 100x or better microscope, and look for yourself. Take a high power LED and look into the beam outside at night. You'll see particles in the millionths of a meter (microns). See for yourself. It's worse than you think.
จับปรับที่โรงหีบอ้อยเลย รับรองไม่มีใครกล้าเผาอีกต่อไป...
Long life stay away Thailand