CHIANG MAI, Thailand, April 7, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Authorities on Friday urged
people in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai to stay indoors and work from
home as air pollution spiked to hazardous levels.

Smoke from forest fires and farmers burning crop stubble has blanketed the
popular tourist destination in recent weeks.

On Friday morning, the air monitoring website IQAir ranked Chiang Mai as the
most polluted major city in the world, ahead of regular hotspots such as
Delhi and Lahore.

Levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles -- so tiny they can enter the
bloodstream -- were more than 66 times the World Health Organization's annual
guideline, according to IQAir.

Chiang Mai provincial governor Nirat Pongsittitavorn issued a statement
urging people to stay indoors and work from home to "protect themselves and
reduce the health impact" from PM2.5 particles.

Thailand has been choking on a spike in air pollution since the start of the
year, caused in part by seasonal agricultural burning.

Nearly two million people have needed hospital treatment for respiratory
conditions caused by air pollution this year, according to the public health
ministry.

Officials previously warned Bangkok residents to stay indoors and work from
home in February as the capital was covered with harmful haze.