On Wednesday, July 3, 2024, Pol. Gen. Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, chaired the Twenty-fifth Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution (25^th MSC). The meeting included 6 countries from the southern ASEAN region under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, namely Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.

At the meeting, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) forecasted the transboundary haze situation during July to September 2024. The forecast indicated that most parts of the southern ASEAN region would experience above-normal rainfall. However, there remains a risk of transboundary haze due to hotspots and haze in fire-prone areas, especially during dry conditions.

Pol. Gen. Phatcharavat Wongsuwan praised the cooperation and dedication of all countries that pledged to remain vigilant and intensify their monitoring, surveillance, and prevention efforts to reduce transboundary haze pollution. He particularly commended the commitment to jointly implement the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, as well as the development of various tools and mechanisms, such as expanding the operations of ASMC for burn area reporting, utilizing the Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS) for forest and agricultural fires, establishing the Regional Haze Training Network (RHTN) for fire and haze management in the southern ASEAN region, and most importantly, setting up the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC). This initiative was agreed upon during the 18^th  Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-18) in August 2023, with Thailand currently preparing to sign the establishment agreement. All these efforts to comprehensively addressing the root causes of transboundary haze pollution, led to a significant reduction in its occurrence.

During the surveillance period from July to September 2024, all countries have prepared to tackle potential haze problems in the southern ASEAN region to mitigate health and environmental impacts. In Thailand, the Committee on Sustainable Air Pollution Management, chaired by Pol. Gen. Phatcharavat, has ordered various domestic agencies to monitor and prepare for fire incidents in peatlands and hotspots in agricultural areas rigorously. This is to minimize the loss and damage from fires in these areas, which could affect neighboring countries.

Thailand is commits to enhancing cooperation with ASEAN member countries to achieve tangible results and seeks collaboration at all levels to drive ASEAN towards becoming a haze-free region.