Thai authorities on Saturday (Jan 25) announced that they have made public transport free for a week. The order was passed to address the growing air pollution problem in Bangkok. Currently, employees are being advised to work from home and schools have been shut down.

The free travel offer includes buses and the city’s elevated and underground electric trains. Authorities hope the move will encourage more people to use public transport, decreasing the number of private vehicles on the road and thereby cutting one of the major contributors to the pollution.

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Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in a Facebook post said that he is concerned about the situation and the government is committed to addressing the issue with both short-term and long-term solutions.

In Thailand’s northern regions, air pollution has been a constant issue due to forest and agricultural waste burning.
However, now the capital city of Bangkok is also experiencing deteriorating air quality, particularly in the winter season.

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The primary contributors to the pollution are vehicle emissions, industrial activities, and dust from construction sites. The dust particles in the air, invisible to the naked eye, can reach the lungs causing serious health problems, like breathing issues alongside long-term complications.

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Swiss-based air quality monitoring service IQAir on Saturday ranked Bangkok as the 14th most polluted city globally. Earlier this week, the city was among the top 10 most polluted cities.

The free public transport initiative is just one of the measures authorities are using to manage the situation, as they continue to seek ways to improve air quality and mitigate its health impacts.