The campaign kicked off at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning (Feb 3), with Phuket Vice Governor Adul Chuthong presiding over the opening ceremony.
The initiative, led by the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM Phuket), focuses on reducing harmful dust particles that pose health and environmental risks, particularly during the dry season when pollution levels tend to spike.
DDPM Phuket Chief Sopon Thongsai, who is now also serving as the secretary of the ‘Phuket Provincial Command Center on PM2.5 Pollution’, emphasised the importance of public cooperation in curbing pollution.
The campaign, themed ‘Stop Burning, Stop Dust, For You, For Us,’ aims to raise awareness through direct community engagement and collaboration with local authorities, volunteers and residents.
Authorities are enforcing stricter measures to curb dust emissions from open burning, transportation, industrial activities and construction projects, Mr Sopon said.
Residents are urged to avoid open burning and stay informed about air quality updates through official government channels, he added.
The campaign launch today follows the Air Pollution Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) recording a PM2.5 spike of 124 for the south side of Phuket Town yesterday (Feb 2), with lower readings across the island.
The PM2.5 reading of 124 put Phuket in the ‘Orange’ Zone, which is described as “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”.
“Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion,” notes the Air Quality Index scale as defined by the US-EPA 2016 standard.
The campaign launch today also follows Vice Governor Adul issuing a provincial ban on all agricultural burning on Jan 24. That order followed a national order issued by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul.
Under the Phuket burning ban, all burning is prohibited during the dry season. If burning is necessary for agricultural purposes, prior permission must be obtained from the local kamnan (subdistrict chief) or village headman.
Further, any person found setting or allowing fires to spread in national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or forest reserves face imprisonment of four to 20 years, fines ranging from B400,000 to B5 million, or both, under charges under the Forestry Act.
Under Section 220 of the Criminal Code, anyone who causes a fire that endangers others or their property, even if unintentional, may be sentenced to up to seven years in prison and fined up to B40,000.
District chiefs, kamnan, village headmen and local administrative authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with this announcement in their areas, said the provincial order.
Firebreaks must be created, and fires must be controlled to prevent them from spreading. Local forest fire control officers should be involved in supervising these activities.
If a fire is spotted, immediate efforts must be made to extinguish it before it spreads.
For severe fires that cannot be controlled, notify local authorities or contact the Phuket Forest Fire Control Station or hotline 1362 for urgent assistance.