’.Īccording to environmental reports, this pollution from factories is responsible for the ‘haze,’ as it is called. While high rates of dust contaminants were recorded in 20, they are nothing compared to the the levels now, which just hit an all-time high in 10 years- said to be more than three times over the ‘healthy level. Unfortunately, Bangkok, the country’s capital and one of the most visited destinations, is faced with a major threat– dust pollution, an environmental hazard that began early in December 2018. "We had a very wet winter and spring, but that was pretty much erased in July when we had a very strong heat wave in the West that dried this out very, very quickly," said Ed Delgado, the national program manager for predictive services at the National Interagency Fire Center.Īs average temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, health officials are bracing for more wildfires scorching wider swaths of Western lands, leading to more coughing, wheezing, heart attacks, and deaths.LAMA AL TAHER WRITES– Thailand has been hailed as a “must” tourist destination in Asia for its unparalleled location, food, and cost effectiveness. Overall, this fire season is far worse than officials expected. “Other than staying indoors, it’s pretty hard to do, because you can’t stop breathing,” Liu said. Officials don’t have many options to help people get fresh air under smoke and haze. Montana Department of Environmental Quality Seeley Lake monitors detected a surge in particulates on September 12. “My research shows that when pollution is very high, over 37, we start to see health consequences,” Liu said.Įven on September 12, after many fires died down, the Seeley Lake air monitoring station was reporting an off-the-charts spike in air pollution and an average particulate count of 214.6 micrograms per cubic meter over 24 hours. These particles penetrate deep into lungs, and can cause inflammation, asthma attacks, and over the long term, cancer.Įven in tiny concentrations, measured in micrograms per cubic meter, particulates can increase visits to the emergency room, especially for the elderly and people with chronic breathing problems. “Generally, we think that the smaller it is, the more likely it is to make you sick,” said Jia Coco Liu, a postdoctoral researcher studying air quality after disasters at Johns Hopkins University. Wildfires directly create these particles as they torch plains and forests. The smallest particles are the biggest concern.ĮPA regulates PM2.5, which refers to particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. Seeley Lake is bordered by the Swan and Mission mountain ranges, and its geography traps dirty air over the town’s 1,600 residents. Seeley Lake, Montana, had extremely dangerous air quality levels on September 6. The town of Seeley Lake, Montana, about 50 miles from Missoula, suffered some of the highest pollution levels from the blazes. Wildfires can loft bits of dust and carbon into the jet stream, but health hazards emerge when the local weather conditions bring these particles back down to ground level, which is why specific local air quality monitoring and forecasts are so important. Unfortunately, smoke from wildfires poses a threat even in small quantities, and can cause harm even to people hundreds of miles away from the nearest flames. Here’s the map from September 6: Air quality in the West on September 6, one of the worst days for wildfires in 2017. The six categories for the Air Quality Index range from “good” (“It’s a great day to be outside”) to “hazardous” (“ Avoid all physical activity outdoors”).Īir quality in the San Francisco Bay Area reached “very unhealthy” levels on October 10: Wildfires are degrading air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area this week.Įarlier this season, air in some parts of Montana, Washington, Oregon, and California reached that worst-case “hazardous” level during some of the more intense wildfires in September. The math is a little convoluted, but the index allows regulators to make apples-to-apples comparisons of health risks across different pollutants like ozone and sulfur dioxide. The Environmental Protection Agency measures the harm from wildfires with its Air Quality Index, as shown here in this live map.
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