A woman looks towards pollution-cloaked Chiang Mai from a lookout above the city on Friday. The situation in Chiang Mai was far worse than the second most-polluted city, Delhi, whose AQI was only 198 and PM2.5 was 122.0. Hot spots are due to natural bushfires in the dry season, burning-off by farmers and the activities of firebugs. Department director-general Atthaphon Charoenchansa on Sunday admitted the number of hot spots in the country was worrying. The evidence pointed to one of the men being named Somkid and living in Doi Tao district in Chiang Mai, Mr Karin said.

Source: Bangkok Post March 30, 2026 06:51 UTC