大気汚染が悪化、在宅勤務要請　タイ北部チェンマイ

【チェンマイＡＦＰ＝時事】タイ北部チェンマイで、大気汚染が悪化している。１０日には山間部にかすみがかかっている様子が見られた。（写真は大気汚染でかすむタイ・チェンマイの様子）
　大気を監視するウェブサイト、スイスのＩＱエアによると、７日朝のチェンマイの微小粒子状物質（ＰＭ２．５）濃度は、世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）が定める年間平均濃度の６６倍以上に達した。この日は大気汚染のひどさで知られるインドのデリーやパキスタンのラホールを上回り、世界一大気が汚染された場所となった。
　人口１３万人のチェンマイのニラット・ポンシティターウォン知事は同日、外出を控え、在宅勤務をするよう要請した。
　大気汚染の一因としては、森林火災や野焼きが挙げられている。
　タイのプラユット・チャンオーチャー首相は、隣国ミャンマーとラオスの首脳とビデオ会談し、問題を協議した。
　チェンマイの観光業協会によると、大気汚染の悪化で観光客が２０％ほど減少している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/04/11-17:24）

Thailand's Chiang Mai was ranked the world's most polluted city on Friday, with authorities urging people to work from home to avoid the hazardous air.
Smoke from forest fires and farmers burning crop stubble has blanketed the popular tourist destination in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha held video talks with the leaders of neighbouring Myanmar and Laos to discuss the problem, which affects large areas of southeast Asia every year.
Thailand has been choking on heavy air pollution since the start of the year, caused in part by seasonal agricultural burning.
Nearly two million people have needed hospital treatment for respiratory conditions caused by air pollution this year, according to the public health ministry.
On Friday morning, the air monitoring website IQAir ranked Chiang Mai as the most polluted major city in the world, above regular hotspots such as Delhi and Lahore.
Levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles -- so tiny they can enter the bloodstream -- were more than 66 times the World Health Organization's annual guideline, according to IQAir.
Chiang Mai provincial governor Nirat Pongsittitavorn issued a statement urging people to stay indoors and work from home to protect themselves and reduce the health impact from PM2.5 particles.
Forest fires have contributed to the problem.
The latest, in Chiang Rai province, northeast of Chiang Mai, began on Thursday and has affected 96 hectares of forest.
Home to nearly 130,000 people, Chiang Mai is a gateway to Thailand's hilly north, visited pre-pandemic by millions of tourists for its historic centre and laid-back atmosphere.
But Wittaya Pongsiri, vice-president of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association, said the pollution was putting visitors off.
The number of tourists has dropped by 20 percent, he said.
After his talks with his Laotian counterpart Sonexay Siphandone and Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, Prayut's office said he would push for discussion of cross-border pollution at the next summit of regional bloc ASEAN.
The three leaders discussed the need to find ways to curb emissions from agriculture and industry, but did not agree on any concrete steps for action.
Officials previously warned Bangkok residents to stay indoors and work from home in February as the Thai capital was covered with harmful haze.