This week Thailand's second city, Chiang Mai, regularly topped the IQAir monitor website's most polluted big cities list. But clean air activists say more is needed, and are pushing for the government to move quickly on clean air legislation that stalled last year with the dissolution of parliament. "A normal government would have been concerned about clean air not only now but a long time ago," said Kanongnij Sribuaiam, legal team leader at Thailand Clean Air Network, which pushed for the legislation. "It affects everyone because these toxins and heavy metals enter the body directly," he told AFP, describing "burning eyes, phlegm, and nasal inflammation." "Usually, Chiang Mai is buzzing in March and April, but this year, it's just quiet," said tuk-tuk driver Chakkrawat Wichitchaisilp.

Source: The Standard April 03, 2026 23:32 UTC