Bangkok and the northern city of Chiang Mai were among the 10 most polluted cities in the world on Friday. Some 2.4 million people in Thailand have needed medical treatment for air pollution-related problems since the beginning of the year.
Air pollution is a contributing factor in about 31,000 deaths in 2019 in Thailand, according to WHO data. The cost of air pollution in Thailand in 2019 was $63.1 billion, or 11 percent of GDP, an environmental economist in Bangkok says.