Air pollution chokes Thailand as campaigners call for stricter laws
Chiang Mai listed as worst in the world for air quality as pollution worsens during cooler months
Every December, Dr Nitipatana Chierakul, a specialist in respiratory medicine, notices the same pattern at his hospital department in Bangkok: his patients’ conditions will start to worsen.
Some present with chest pain or prolonged coughs. “Mostly they have difficulty breathing,” he says. For at least three months, patients who have pre-existing conditions can amount to up to 80% of his department’s caseload, he estimates.