In Thailand, hundreds of firefighters and soldiers battled a wildfire less than 100 kilometers from Bangkok on Friday, amid a wave of air pollution that has already affected 1.7 million people in the kingdom since the beginning of the year.
The fire has already devastated at least 800,000 square meters of forest, the size of 100 soccer fields, on three hills in Nakhon Nayok province (northeast), and two districts have been declared emergency areas.
The fire comes as Thailand faces a surge in pollution, caused in part by the burning of farmers.
Since the beginning of the year, 1,730,000 people have had to be hospitalized for respiratory problems caused by air pollution, according to the latest figures from the Health Ministry.
The fire doesn’t threaten any urban center, but it is near the border of Khao Yai National Park, the kingdom’s oldest national park, which is part of a UNESCO-listed forest complex that stretches to the Cambodian border.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has dispatched his interior minister to coordinate operations on the ground, his office said in a statement.
“Prime Minister Prayut and the Defense Minister are closely monitoring the forest fire situation in Nakon Nayok and have directed relevant organizations to urgently help extinguish the fire,” government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said.
On Thursday, Mr Prayut, a candidate for a new term in the May 14 elections, asked the Secretary-General of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to help him coordinate efforts to reduce transboundary pollution caused by agricultural combustion.
Farmers across Southeast Asia burn stubble in their fields every year after harvest, causing widespread air pollution.
Northern Thailand has been particularly hard hit and this week the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai topped the list of the world’s most polluted cities compiled by monitoring firm IQAir, ahead of capitals like New Delhi and Beijing.