Indonesia's smog hits tourism islands Phuket and Koh Samui

Heavy layers of smog blanketed the south since Monday, creating health risks & delaying flights up to 2 hours to tourist destinations such as Phuket.

AIR POLLUTION & TOURISM

Indonesia's smog hits tourism islands Phuket and Koh Samui

9/10/2015
Prangthong Jitcharoenkul, Patsara Jikkham and Amornrat Mahitthirook

Smoke haze particles from Indonesia's forest fires on Thursday surged beyond the safety threshold of 120 microgrammes per cubic metre.

The situation on the resort island of Phuket became critical, posing a risk to people's health, delaying flights to the south, with a potential negative effect on tourism.

The haze situation has deteriorated since Monday and was likely to worsen further if Indonesia cannot contain the forest fires that are creating the haze.

However, as of Friday morning, the smoke haze had abated and returned to safe levels for the time being. 

The airborne particulate matter in the province of Phuket reached its highest level of 201 ug/cu m in the past week, reducing visibility for aircraft to less than two kilometres.

Heavy layers of smog blanketed Krabi, Surat Thani and Hat Yai airports.

Flights at Phuket and Surat Thani airports were delayed by 50 minutes and up to 2 hours in worse cases due to poor visibility.

Thick smog forced flights of the airlines Katekavia, Nok Air and AirAsia to return to Bangkok.

Several flights from other airlines including Sri Lankan Airlines, Jetstar, Air China and Aeroflot were also delayed, leaving more than 1,000 passengers stranded at the airport.

As far the health impact of the smog is concerned, high-risk groups include people with chronic respiratory conditions, the elderly, infants, and pregnant women. All these groups are urged to wear safety masks when outdoors.

Residents should also try to avoid doing any strenuous physical activities outdoors and drink water regularly during the day.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/environment/723728/government-offers-to-help-jakarta-fight-haze-hazard

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/724792/smoke-haze-at-safe-levels-in-the-south
http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/phuket-gets-better-today-with-slight-smog-cover

สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/724832/indonesia-smog-hits-tourism-islands-phuket-and-koh-samui