Act now for clean air

As the New Year celebrations draw to a close, life is returning to normal — along with some all-too-familiar problems.

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Chief among them is PM2.5, the seasonal air pollution that predictably resurfaces when pollution-generating activities resume, including open burning, industrial operations and heavy traffic.

Indeed, PM2.5 levels two weeks ago exceeded health safety thresholds. Yet the issue barely registered in media headlines, overshadowed by the Thai-Cambodian ceasefire and the political campaigning surrounding the coming election.

The pollution situation in the final weeks of 2025 was serious enough for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to submit a petition on Dec 24 to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, outlining 11 recommendations on how the government should address PM2.5.