Diesel Buses, Cars And Street Food Barbeques Add To Pollution

Footage shows how diesel-belching 50-year-old buses, cars and street food sellers barbecuing food are all contributing to the deadly cloud of smog engulfing Bangkok. A debilitating blanket of toxic pollution made up of deadly micro-particles of dust that become lodged in the lungs has descended on the capital of Thailand since last weekend - and is expected to continue for the next month. Officials have begun spraying water into the air as a response to the pollution and planes also flew over eastern regions dumping water from the sky. It is believed that the 'artificial rain' will help to disperse the pollutants lingering in the sky. While supermarkets and chemists have sold out of face masks that filter out the dust particles, as Thai locals rush to protect themselves. The PM2.5 dust particles are extremely small and they are fine enough to be absorbed in the human bloodstream through the lungs. This will cause chronic diseases such as asthma, cancer, heart disease and stroke in the long term if there is exposure to air pollution. The PM2.5 air-quality index (AQI) in parts of Bangkok reached a shocking 394 microgrammes per cubic - far past the acceptable limit of 50.