Over 2,201 Fire Hotspots Reported Throughout Northern Thailand

CHIANG RAI: The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency reports that a total of 2,201 fire hotspots were found throughout the North on Tuesday, the majority of them in conservation forests. 1,388 hotspots were located in the higher part of the northern region and 813 in the lower North, out of the total.

The most hotspots were in the provinces of Tak (495), Uttaradit (237), Nan (212), Phrae (190), and Lampang (181). There were 25 agricultural land reform areas, 783 reserved forests, and 1,214 conservation forests.

From December 1 and February 28 of this year, there were 31,971 hotspots combined in Northern Thailand, compared to 13,351 in 2022 and 33,430 in 2021. The hotspots play a significant role in increasing PM2.

In most northern provinces, the government-established safe level of 50 microgrammes per cubic meter has been exceeded by 5 levels.

The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda) said on its Facebook page on Wednesday that the satellite Suomi NPP discovered 3,768 hotspots nationwide on February 28, the most since January 1.

Kanchanaburi had the most hotspots (577), Tak had the most (495), Uttaradit had the most (237), Nan had the most (212), and Phrae had the least (190).

Thailand, Laos (3,370), Burma (2,809), Cambodia (2,758), and Vietnam were the countries with the most hotspots in the region (732). According to Gistda, on February 28 there were the most hotspots in Thailand in agricultural areas (271), community areas (271), agricultural land reform areas (219), conversation forests (1,937), national forest reserves (1,043), and along highways (18).

The five northern provinces with the largest number of hotspots, according to hotspot data from Gistda on February 28, are Tak (495), Uttaradit (237), Nan (212), Phrae (190), and Lampang (181). (Gistda and the Region 3 Center for the Prevention and Mitigation of Air Pollution)

According to a report released on Wednesday by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda), the Suomi NPP satellite discovered 3,768 hotspots nationwide on February 28.