Bangkok declares emergency, Urges work from home as alarming level of pollution suffocates the city

With pollution levels reaching alarming heights, Bangkok has issued an urgent call for citizens to work from home, as the city grapples with a choking haze. The move comes in response to a severe pollution crisis, prompting authorities to take drastic measures to safeguard public health and address the environmental emergency.

Thailand's Bangkok has had a rough start to the new year in terms of a healthy atmosphere. The city popular for tourists has come under a blanket of smog as pollution levels breached the healthy range of air quality by about 15 times. The issue has also caused an immediate health hazard for the people.

Air monitoring company IQAir placed Bangkok in the top 10 most polluted cities in the world on Thursday. It also suggested that the alarming level of pollution in the populous city will persist for a few more days leaving the city authorities scratching for an immediate solution. Even Chaingmai is facing a similar issue of deteriorating pollution levels.

The Bangkok city administration requested companies in the city to enforce work-from-home for employees on Thursday and Friday. Around 115 companies are placed in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The city governor Chadchart Sittipunt already declared that the employees in the city will work from home.

Chadchart Sittipunt said, “I would like to ask for cooperation from the BMA network of about 151 companies and organizations, both government offices and the private sector.” Air pollution has become one of the most talked points in Thailand due to its constant recurrence. Thailand faces a severe air pollution crisis in the early months of every year due to increased stubble burning from farmlands.

Industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust smoke are also responsible for the problem. The newcomer government of Thailand led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin promised to enforce immediate solutions to curb the crisis. A draft of the Clean Air Act was endorsed by the cabinet last month suggesting a law is not very far away from reality.