Burning Season

I have been dealing with a cough for a month or so and for the longest time I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Usually I don't get sick much (knock on wood) but I was a little worried so visited the health center on campus where I was quickly handed different medicines to help with the cough. These didn't seem to help. After talking with some professors here I found out the problem, and unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it.

During the dry season in Thailand, farmers practice slash-and-burn techniques where they burn their fields in order to replenish the nutrients and encourage regrowth. From February to April the burning occurs, and you can definitely feel it in your lungs and see a dramatic increase in the haze. The air quality is by far my least favorite thing about Thailand.

The air quality can be measured by particulate matter (PM) and the main components of PM are "sulfate, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, carbon, mineral dust and water," according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO set guidelines in 2005 for a 24-hour mean, and this value was set at 50. 

After looking at a picture of the sky today would you like to take a guess at today's PM value? I would have guessed somewhere around 100. The real value.....210.

In case you don't believe me here is a link to a website that lists the daily PM values of different places in Thailand. Chiang Mai is very easy to find, it's the one highlighted in red since the value is so high. 

Also, here's a link to the WHO page on air quality and health if you're interested in reading some more about it.

this photo shows the outside of our dorm in February (top) and today (bottom)