Mrs. Kanchalee Navickabhum, Deputy Director General and Deputy Spokesman of the Pollution Control Department (PCD), revealed that due to the fire situation in the Khuan Khreng Swamp Forest in 4 districts of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, namely (1) Khuan Khreng Subdistrict, Cha Uat District, (2) Karaket Subdistrict, Chian Yai District, (3) Khuan Phang Subdistrict, Ron Phibun District and (4) Suan Luang Subdistrict, Chaloem Phra Kiat District since August 4, 2023, until now, PCD by Air Quality and Noise Management Division and Environment and Pollution Control Office 16 (Songkhla) has continuously monitored and analyzed the PM2.5 situation in the area. On August 12, 2023, 46 hot spots were found in the conserved forest area of Khuan Khreng Subdistrict, Cha Uat District. Local authorities and relevant authorities continued to control the fire in the area. However, no hot spots were found in that area on August 17, 2023.
Mrs. Kanchalee said that on August 18, 2023, at 7:00 a.m., the amount of particulate matter with diameter of less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) in the southern region was 6.5 – 14.0 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) (standard not over 37.5 µg./m3). The overall air quality was very good. The highest amount was 14.0 µg/m3 at Klang Subdistrict, Muang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. According to the particulate matter forecast in the southern region 7 days in advance, it was found that the overall air quality in all areas was very good. However, PCD continues to monitor the situation continuously. People can monitor the particulate matter situation by themselves via PCD’s channels on Air4Thai.com website and Air4Thai application. In addition, people can get more information about the situation on Facebook Fanpage “Center for Air Pollution Mitigation (CAPM)”.
