{"id":31160,"date":"2019-01-30T13:23:32","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T13:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=31160"},"modified":"2019-01-30T13:23:32","modified_gmt":"2019-01-30T13:23:32","slug":"thailand-hundreds-of-schools-closed-as-toxic-smog-chokes-bangkok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=31160","title":{"rendered":"Thailand: Hundreds of schools closed as toxic smog chokes Bangkok"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Toxic smog forced hundreds of schools to close in Thailand’s capital as authorities struggle to manage a pollution crisis that has stirred widespread health fears and taken on a political edge just weeks before elections.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha directed Bangkok’s governor to order the closure of 437 city-controlled public schools on Wednesday after officials said the pollution would continue until next Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We decided to eliminate the problem by closing down the schools,” said Asawin Kwanmuang, the city’s governor. “We’re afraid that it can be dangerous for the children.”<\/p>\n

Reasons given for the lingering pall include exhaust from traffic, unfettered construction, the burning of crop stubble, and pollution from factories getting trapped in the city.<\/p>\n

Long-term risks<\/h2>\n

Authorities have seeded clouds to provoke rain, sprayed overpasses with water to catch micro-pollutants and even asked people not to burn incense sticks and paper during Chinese New Year celebrations.<\/p>\n

The measures so far have drawn derision from many Bangkok residents, while stocks of pollution masks have run out in many shops.<\/p>\n

At a downtown Bangkok school where parents arrived early to pick up their children, pupils said they knew about the risks posed by the dangerous pollutant particles, known as PM 2.5.<\/p>\n

“I use a mask wherever I go,” 12-year-old Chaiwawut Benpalee told AFP news agency. “It will not affect us now, but it will in the future.”<\/p>\n

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A young boy wears a protective mask as he’s picked up from school [Sakchai Lalit\/AP]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Lacklustre response<\/h2>\n

The haze is also starting to seep into the political conversation.<\/p>\n

Thailand is set to <\/a>hold an election on March 24<\/a>, the first since the military took over in a 2014 coup.<\/p>\n

“I don’t see serious measures being taken,” tweeted Chaturon Chaisang, a key member of the Thai Raksa Chart party, urging more to be done beyond the school closures.<\/p>\n

His party, closely linked to the politically powerful Shinawatra clan, has been quick to launch a “measure the pollution” app, while other parties have handed out masks – leaving the ruling military government appearing flat-footed in its response.<\/p>\n

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The sunset is seen during a poor air quality day in Bangkok, Thailand [Jorge Silva\/Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toxic smog forced hundreds of schools to close in Thailand’s capital as authorities struggle to manage a pollution crisis that has stirred widespread health fears and taken on a political edge just weeks before elections. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha directed Bangkok’s governor to order the closure of 437 city-controlled public schools on Wednesday after officials…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}