Every year at the same time: Haze is posing threat to health of people in the North of Thailand with health officials revealing over 7,000 patients seeing doctors at Chiang Mai hospital daily, reports Thai PBS. Health officials are advising people of risk groups to avoid outdoor exercises or wear face masks when going outside of houses.
More than 16,000 people in Lampang have undergone treatment for respiratory issues since the smog began affecting the upper North in February, the province's deputy governor said according to The Nation.
The Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce has revealed that the burning of corn plantations to clear the fields, covering 5 million rai in the North, is the main cause of the severe haze problem facing the region every year, reports The Nation. The burns are carried out between February and March. Chiang Mai University geography lecturer Suthinee Dontree says, most corn farmers opted for the burning method because it was cheaper while the region's farmland geography was largely mountainous, making it difficult to bring in machinery. She adds that corn also required minimum amount of water and the crop was harvested quickly in three to four months.
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