Thailand's northern provinces report unsafe levels of air pollution

STORY: Thailand's northern provinces report unsafe levels of air pollution DATELINE: March 28, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:55 LOCATION: Bangkok CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT SHOTLIST: 1. various of air pollution in Thailand's northern provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai STORYLINE: Air pollution continued to plague Thailand's northern provinces, with air quality in some regions reaching unhealthy levels, government reports showed on Monday. The Pollution Control Department (PCD) reported that air quality in most of the country's 17 northern provinces reached unsafe levels, with PM 2.5 soaring to 561 micrograms per cubic meter in some areas in Chiang Rai province, 11 times higher than the national safe limit of 50 micrograms. People in Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Nan and Chiang Mai provinces are advised to take extreme caution this week, PCD official Sakda Tridech said on Monday. The Thai government has attributed the intense air pollution to smoke from forest fires and agricultural burning. Satellite images from the Th