A reward of 10,000 baht is being offered by the Chiang Mai provincial administration for catching the person or people responsible for starting forest fires. This is due to the increase in PM2.5 dust problem in 17 northern provinces, mainly caused by human-initiated forest fires.
Today, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Patcharawat Wongsuwan conducted an online meeting via Zoom with the governors of 17 northern provinces to talk about the worsening haze problem, allegedly caused by arson.
The minister has ordered a ban on unauthorized access to protected forests, and stated that anyone caught starting forest fires will face legal consequences.
According to Natural Resources and Environment Permanent Secretary Jatuporn Buruspat, PM2.5 levels in ten northern provinces last week exceeded the safe threshold level by a large margin, with 5,000 hotspots detected in Myanmar, about 1,000 in Cambodia, and 700 in Thailand.
He mentioned that discussions were held with his Cambodian counterpart last week to coordinate efforts to address forest fires. Additionally, the Thai military will work with its Burmese counterparts on handling transboundary haze from Myanmar.
Jatuporn acknowledged that it's challenging to control transboundary haze due to the wind direction blowing from Myanmar.
Governor Nirat Pongsitthithavorn of Chiang Mai stated that a 10,000 baht reward is being offered for every arrest of someone caught setting fires in forests.
As per the Air Pollution Mitigation Center today, PM2.5 levels in 32 northern and north-eastern provinces surpassed the 37.5µg/m³ threshold level.
According to the Air4Thai website at 9am today, PM levels in the northern region range from 32.6 µg/m³ to 149.5µg/m³, with the highest level recorded in Wiang Pang Kham sub-district in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.
