“At the start of March, it was a problem – tourists were not coming, I would say I had a 50 per cent drop in bookings,” says Mr Tee, owner of Chiang Mai Tee Tours, perched in his booth on a sidestreet in the city’s old town. “I [have] worked in tourism for 30 years… and I think tourists are becoming more aware of the pollution.”
Still, some argue that the negative headlines are unfair, especially as the world’s most polluted places do not always share data. Air quality sensors used internationally also vary, as do their placement, which could skew the measurements.
“There’s a perception Chiang Mai is an apocalyptic hellscape – it’s not,” says Dr Mark Ritchie, executive director of International Sustainable Development Studies Institute, based in the city. “Overall Bangkok is much more polluted, it’s only at this time of year that Chiang Mai has a lot of smoke – even then, it’s gone when there are big storms.
“Air pollution is a national issue, not a Chiang Mai issue… and the biggest problem in Thailand is not burning but traffic, industry, and massive urban development.”
‘We’re still suffering’
Still, few dispute that northern Thailand has a major problem, and public frustration is mounting. As a thick yellow haze engulfed Chiang Rai on Monday, a city three hours north of Chiang Mai, close to the border with Myanmar, protesters rallied outside the district office to call for more action.
Experts, too, are frustrated at the slow progress tackling air quality under the current government – especially the failure to pass a Clean Air Bill in parliament, which is seeking to create a dedicated agency to tackle the problems and introduce higher taxes and penalties on major polluters.
On a good day, the views from the golden temple’s ‘mountain throne’ are spectacular. But today is not a good day.
Rather than a panoramic perspective of Chiang Mai, tourists and pilgrims making the trip to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep – one of the most sacred spots in northern Thailand – gaze down at a thick layer of smog.
“The haze has been very bad this year,” says Pat, a local taxi driver, as he navigates a winding mountain pass. “I think now we have four seasons: summer, winter, rainy, and the haze.”
Each year, Chiang Mai attracts millions of backpackers and holiday-makers keen to soak up its laid-back atmosphere and explore the lush forests, mountain hikes and hillside villages nearby. The Lonely Planet describes it as a “blissfully calm” place to recharge.
But in recent weeks the tourist hotspot, which is home to 120,000 people, has been competing with megacities including Dhaka, Delhi and Shanghai for an unexpected title: the world’s worst air quality.
And on Monday, for the second time this month, Chiang Mai topped the charts. – Daily Telegraph