The smoke haze crisis in this North province worsened yesterday with dangerous-pollution levels jumping a third in 24 hours.

Readings of fine-dust particles jumped sharply between Saturday and yesterday to reach a dangerous 246 micrograms per cubic metre (mpcm) from an already serious 166 mpcm. Fine-dust particles are those smaller than 10 micrograms. The acceptable level is 120 mpcm.

Artificial-rainmaking efforts have been foiled because conditions necessary for cloud seeding were unavailable in Thai airspace. Rain helps dampen the airborne dust.

"Satellite images show forest fires raging over a large stretch of Burma and they are less than 10 kilometres from our province," Mae Hong Son Disaster Prevention and Mitigation chief Khom Jittariyapong said yesterday.

He added winds were blowing haze from fires into Mae Hong Son. "Without rain, the crisis will persist," he said.

Earlier this month, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai suffered from smoke haze, too. But, rain and artificial rainmaking eased problems there.

Khom reported Mae Hong Son Governor Direk Konkleeb had encouraged communities to build dykes. "Dykes can raise humidity," Khom said.

Mae Hong Son remains a disaster zone.

The governor will ask the Cabinet to revoke a 1999 resolution allowing people to occupy degraded forest.

"Residents have occupied degraded forest and lit fires to burn off weeds and forest scrap. We have asked them to help prevent forest fires, but they have lit them themselves. We are considering stern action," Direk said.

Since February, 574 forest fires were reported in Mae Hong Son.

Deputy Prime Minister and Social Development and Human Security Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham, who chairs a committee looking into the problem, said the smoke crisis has been continuously worsening, with Mae Hong Son affected the most.

Paiboon said the level of fine-dust particles had jumped from 89 mpcm to 174 mpcm in Chiang Rai and from 115 mpcm to 171 mpcm in Chiang Mai due to two forest fires, one in Burma and another in Thailand that was started by farmers over the past weekend.

"Our committee has to revise its measures for uncontrollable problems, like forest fires in a neighbouring country," he said.

He said Mae Hong Son residents have been building 809 dams to raise the humidity level.

The Nation

MAE HONG SON