Thailand is one of the favorite countries for tourists. And spring, the best time of year to meet him. Its capital, Bangkok, can boast of being the city which receives the most visitors on the whole planet, with more than 20 million tourists per year, ahead of Paris and London, respectively second and third on the list. But there are many more places of interest.
One of them is Chiang Mai, the second largest city Thailand, located in the north of the country. A place of enormous historical importance and a heritage that includes more than 300 Buddhist temples, making it a prime tourist attraction. And a place where all the alarms went off because of environmental pollution: the air has become a public hazard, which has caused a drastic drop in tourism.
Chiang Mai’s high pollution levels have caused the city to rank first among cities with worst air quality on the planet according to the ranking produced monthly by IQAir. After her, two cities where this problem is endemic: Lahore, in Pakistan, and New Delhi, in India.
The problem mainly affects the metropolitan area, but also the province of the same name, known for its imposing mountains covered in lush tropical jungle. Among them, the highest in the whole country, Doi Inthanon, a point of attraction for nature lovers from all corners of the globe.
The data speaks for itself: according to the president of the Thai Hotel Association, Phunut Thanalaopanich, the reservations in hotels in the city have been reduced to 45% occupancy, well below the 80% to 90% expected ahead of this week’s Thai New Year festivities, known as Songkran.
locked up at home
The first to suffer from this situation are the inhabitants of Chiang Mai themselves. To live 1.2 million people, to which the health authorities have recommended not to practice any type of outdoor activity. Provincial Governor Nirat Pongsitthavorn has asked civil servants and the private sector to stay at home to “protect themselves and reduce the impact on health.” However, a large percentage of the population continued their daily activities. .
Among the reasons for the high levels of contamination, the Thai authorities point to the Forest fires caused by the burning of crops, both in Thailand and in neighboring countries, Laos and Burma. But the fact that the city is transformed every day into a gigantic traffic jam made up of tens of thousands of cars and motorcycles do not help reduce pollution levels.
nails on General elections Just around the corner on May 14, environmental pollution has become one of the central themes of the campaign. Each of the parties running in the elections has included proposals in their election platforms to try to tackle an issue of national interest, not only for the health of the Thai people but also for that of the main economic engine of the country. .