Thailand Air Quality and Pollution Alerts

[Ratsima]

Interesting. This is what my wife sent me this morning:
.

AQI.jpg (33.64 KiB) Viewed 23235 times

How could they be so different and how could this one be so wrong?

[Big Boy]

I can assure you, in Hua Hin my wife's air purifiers tell us how good or bad the quality is, and even indoors with the purifiers switched on (and relatively new filters fitted) the readings are 40 to 50. The bad air has been affecting my wife quite badly over the last couple of days.

[huahin4ever]

Just now.

YNWA

[Nereus]

Bangkok Air Quality Index (AQI)
Real-time PM2.5, PM10 air pollution level Krung Thep Maha Nakhon

Last Update: 08 Mar 2023, 06:12pm

POOR
145
(AQI-US)

Bangkok POOR

https://www.aqi.in/dashboard/thailand/k ... on/bangkok

[Nereus]

Hua Hin Air Quality Index (AQI)
Real-time PM2.5, PM10 air pollution level Prachuap Khiri Khan

Last Update: 09 Mar 2023, 01:05pm 93
(AQI-US)

Hua Hin MODERATE aqi boy

MODERATE

Bangkok Air Quality Index (AQI)
Real-time PM2.5, PM10 air pollution level Krung Thep Maha Nakhon

Bangkok POOR aqi boy 138
(AQI-US)

Last Update: 09 Mar 2023, 01:05pm

POOR

https://www.aqi.in/dashboard/thailand/k ... on/bangkok

[buksida]

Not sure all these updates posted are necessary as the forum has an AQI meter on it on the right...

aqi.jpg (6.26 KiB) Viewed 23148 times

[Hahuahin]

So which is to follow?

https://www.aqi.in/dashboard/thailand/p ... an/hua-hin

https://www.iqair.com/thailand/prachuap ... an/hua-hin

hahuahin

[Ralfredo]

Not sure all these updates posted are necessary as the forum has an AQI meter on it on the right...

aqi.jpg

Not when you're reading it with Tapatalk. :=(

[Ratsima]

Not sure all these updates posted are necessary as the forum has an AQI meter on it on the right...
aqi.jpg

Not when you're reading it with Tapatalk. :=(

This is because the designers of the forum website have decided to create a responsive design that moves all the stuff in the far right column (ads, exchange rates, weather, etc.) to the bottom of the page on narrower screens like phones and tablets in portrait mode.

So, if you want to see the ads, exchange rates, AQI, etc., you can either scroll down to the bottom of your screen or put your device in landscape mode, which may or may not work depending on the screen size of your device.

[caller]

Big fire off soi112 this evening. If heading SW out of town, it was on the right, 100 or 200 metres from the road, not too far past Zebwer restaurant. We went past at about 20.20. Not sure it was a controlled fire or not? It seemed to be on the point of engulfing some sort of structure at the forefront of the first pic. it is/was bigger than these pics suggest, with remnants of the fire all around. There was a smaller controlled fire before we passed this.

[Ratsima]

I thought it would be interesting to add air quality data to the web cameras I have in both Korat and Cha Am. It seems the most commonly used source is Air Visual from IQAir.

It was pretty easy to get a key for their API. Downloading and decoding the data was a bit more challenging. At least it filled out much of the day for me.

But, after getting a closer look at the data and how they structure it, I wonder how reliable it is.

For example, in the list of cities for Nakhon Ratchasima province they list both "Nakhon Ratchasima" and "Mueang". Of course these actually refer to the same place. Their location coordinates put "Mueang" inside the old city walls while "Nakhon Ratchasima" is at the train station; only a few kilometers from the old city. And yet the AQI for these two nearby places can vary by 100 points or more. How can places so close have AQIs that are so different? How would one know which one is more correct?

The URL for the Cha Am ocean-facing camera is here: Cha Am Web Cam. The US AQI is at the upper right. If you watch the time lapse video you can see the AQI value bounce around quite a bit. I only download the data once an hour, so it can seem rather jumpy.

Anyway, an interesting learning experience, the value of which is questionable.

[Big Boy]

I think a lot of the data comes from private sources, so I guess it is dependent upon the quality of the data collection devices. I must say, I have noticed huge variations in the data around Hua Hin, but I think it is still fairly accurate e.g. if there's a lot of burning in the North of town, depending upon wind direction, the quality will be worse than the air in the South of town.

[Ratsima]

You’re absolutely right. If you look at the data sources most are volunteers with their own gear. Very few official or institutional sources. No way to know how accurate any of it is.

When I have some more time I’ll look more close at how data is gathered for individual locations and decide from there which ones to use.

[Big Boy]

I think it is easier to follow trends, as opposed to the exact numbers. My wife's air purifiers have a digital readout indicating air quality. The numbers are rarely what is reported in the right hand column here, but the trends are very similar.

[Ratsima]

I get that but there are times when you'd like an absolute number.

I wake up. It's still dark. I'm about to do a cycling workout. I'd like an accurate AQI number so I can decide whether or not to put on an N95 mask before I start cranking.