24.9K people follow this city
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Contributors
3
Stations
4
Contributors category
1
Government
0
Non-profit organization
1
Educational
1
Corporate
0
Individual
0
Anonymous
# | station | US AQI |
---|---|---|
1 | Watanya School | 152 |
2 | YA PHRMMA | 121 |
3 | 72nd Anniversary King Bhumibol Public Park, Uttaradit | 108 |
4 | Municipality Office, Uttaradit | 57 |
Reduce outdoor exercise | |
Close your windows to avoid dirty outdoor air GET A MONITOR | |
Sensitive groups should wear a mask outdoors GET A MASK | |
Run an air purifier GET AN AIR PURIFIER |
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Get an AirVisual Outdoor and contribute to collecting millions of data points for the Uttaradit map to track local air pollution
There is a lot of extremely interesting information about air quality on the air pollution map for Uttaradit and it is easy to find by following the link on the main city page. The air pollution map acts as the link and clicking on it will open a new page filled with all the pertinent information about air quality.
When this new page first opens, the user will be met with a solid block of colour which visually represents the current air quality. Colours vary between pale green and dark maroon and are standard across the whole IQAir website. The meaning of each colour is explained in the legend at the foot of the page. Currently, the map has a dark orange/brown colour which shows the air quality as being “Unhealthy”.
The viewer will also notice that there are several coloured discs superimposed over the city. These represent the sites of the ground-level air monitoring stations which provide the city with data about air quality. At the centre of each disc is a number which is the United States Air Quality Index reading or US AQI for short. It is established by taking recordings of up to six of the most commonly occurring pollutants found in the city air. They are usually both sizes of Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Once this figure has been calculated, it is used as a metric when comparing air quality in different cities across the globe. It has the full backing of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Each of the stations can be explored further by clicking on the appropriate disc which will open another page filled with information about air quality in that area.
Looking back at the main city page, it can be seen in the coloured banner across the top of the page that in early April 2023, Uttaradit was experiencing a period of “Unhealthy” air with a US AQI reading of 160. The core pollutant was found to be PM2.5 with a recorded level of 72.2 µg/m³ (microns per cubic metre). This level is almost fourteen and a half times higher than the suggested target figure of 5 µg/m³ as recommended by the WHO. The colour of the banner is also a reflection of the current air quality.
Immediately below the air pollution map for Uttaradit can be seen the number of contributors there are that supply the air quality data and the number of stations they operate. Currently, there are two contributors from the government and the other one is a corporate contributor. The government department is the Thailand Pollution Control Department whilst the corporate contributor is Ya_Phrmma.
There is a lot more fascinating material about the quality of the air in Uttaradit and it is very easy to find. Looking at the air pollution map, a small icon will be seen at the top right-hand side of the screen. When this is selected, the whole page will open in full-screen mode which shows all the available information.
When viewed in this way, a list of four options will be seen on the left-hand side of the screen. These can each be turned on and off to see the effect they have on the map.
The first option reveals the location of the ground-level air monitoring stations. Each station can be explored individually by selecting the appropriate disc which will open a new page filled with the relevant information. This can be very useful when travelling around the city.
The second option shows the location of any wildfires there are that happen to be burning in the local area. At the beginning of April 2023, there were several icons on the map showing these fires. In this situation, option number four needs to be studied because it shows the speed and direction of the prevailing winds and can give an indication of where the smoke might drift.
The third option colours the background of the map to reflect the current air quality. When the air is poor quality, the map will take on some dark colours which might be confusing to look at. In such case, the option can be deactivated and the map will revert to a more acceptable colour scheme.
More facts and figures can be found on the right-hand side of the screen where a table is published that ranks the top seven most polluted cities across the globe. The rest of the participating cities can be found under the full-ranking section which will open several pages to show all the appropriate information.
Below the contributors’ section is another one which reveals the most polluted areas of the city according to the readings gathered by the monitoring stations. The worst area of the city is currently in the vicinity of the Municipality Office, Uttaradit which returned a US AQI reading of 172 which is classed as being “Unhealthy”.
The next section shows the popularity of each station, according to the number of loyal followers they each have. The most popular one is the Municipality Office, Uttaradit with over 31,500 followers.
Whilst the source of the polluted air is not specifically shown on the air quality map for Uttaradit, it is generally known that the cause of the high amount of PM2.5 dust is due to meteorological conditions and open burning from neighbouring Myanmar when the transboundary smog hits Thailand. Many fires were also burning in the province which have been gradually extinguished. The people living in this area are being asked to stop setting fires to further reduce dust and smoke problems in the area.
PM2.5 is a small particulate matter, less than 2.5 microns, which is comparable to about 1 in 25 of the diameter of a human hair. So small that human nose hairs that filter dust cannot filter it. Therefore, spreading into the respiratory tract, bloodstream and into other organs in the body. The dust is a carrier of other substances such as cadmium, mercury, heavy metals and other carcinogens.
3Contributors
Government Contributor
2 stations
Educational Contributor
1 station
Corporate Contributor
1 station
2 Data sources