Thailand, Myanmar and Laos have agreed to set up a special hotline as part of a three-nation effort to curb transboundary haze pollution, with levels of the hazardous PM2.5 dust expected to shoot up again later this week.
The agreement was reached at a recent teleconference held by the Pollution Control Department (PDS) and attended by its Myanmar and Lao counterparts, said director-general Preeyaporn Suwanaged.
The new hotline will allow the three department chiefs to stay in close contact and discuss any urgent haze situations and effective responses, she said on Tuesday.
They also reviewed progress made by the three countries on the Clear Sky strategic plan (2024-30). Myanmar has successfully brought down the number of hotspots while Thailand and Cambodia are still seeing slight rises in numbers, Ms Preeyaporn said.
Participants from Myanmar and Laos told the meeting they have scaled up law enforcement against illegal burning in forest areas and in public, while continuing to raise public awareness about the importance of cooperating with their governments in reducing sources of the haze, she said.
The group agreed to hold a meeting again in one or two months, Ms Preeyaporn said.
Levels of PM2.5 dust are projected to rise to a point considered unsafe to people with underlying medical conditions later this week, according to Dr Thiti Sawaengtham, deputy director-general of the Department of Health.
People in at-risk groups are advised to keep monitoring changes in the air quality and to wear masks when going outdoors if the pollution in their areas worsens.
The Public Health Emergency Operation Centre, under the Ministry of Public Health, has ordered hospitals and healthcare service providers to pay extra attention to nosebleeds and take them as a possible sign of the negative health impact of PM2.5.
Dr Weerawut Imsamran, deputy permanent secretary for public health, said 16,246 “clean air” rooms have been set up in 70 provinces with a combined capacity to shelter up to 1.9 million people, while 2.6 million N95 masks are ready to be distributed in the event of an air pollution crisis.