Open burning in sugarcane fields is recognized as a major source of air pollution. However, the assessment of its emission intensity in many regions of the world still lacks information, especially regarding country-specific activity data including biomass fuel load and combustion factor. A site survey was conducted covering 13 sugarcane plantations subject to different farm management practices and climatic conditions. The results showed that pre-harvest and post-harvest burnings are the two main practices followed in Thailand. In 2012, the total production of sugarcane biomass fuel, i.e., dead, dry and fresh leaves, amounted to 10.15 million tonnes, which is equivalent to a fuel density of 0.79 kg∙m⁻². The average combustion factor for the pre-harvest and post-harvest burning systems was determined to be 0.64 and 0.83, respectively. Emissions from sugarcane field burning were estimated using the bottom-up country-specific values from the site survey of this study and the results compared with those obtained using default values from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. The comparison showed that the use of default values lead to underestimating the overall emissions by up to 30% as emissions from post-harvest burning are not accounted for, but it is the second most common practice followed in Thailand.

Bangkok Metropolitan Region - Thailand (BMR), one of the major metropolitan areas in the world, is a bustling upper-middle class megacity composed of Bangkok city proper and five surrounding provinces. With an actual population of approximately 15 million, it is the central hub for commerce and tourism in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region. In the past decades, Bangkok has experienced extraordinary economic development and urban expansion, all the while displaying notable concern regarding the ambient air pollution and its adverse effects on human health. In this study, 16-years of air quality monitoring data were collected from 25 stations in BMR, which are operated by the Thailand’s Pollution Control Department. Data for O₃, PM₁₀, NOx, CO and SO^₂ were analyzed temporally with a particular focus on long-term, seasonal and diurnal variations. The data were also analyzed spatially to identify the hotspots and flow of air pollution in the region. These investigations were performed to assess the evolution of air quality in BMR over the past 16 years and identify areas of potential concern. Analysis of the data indicated that PM₁₀, NOx , CO and SO₂ were in a moderate decline over the 16 years, while O₃ concentration has risen steadily throughout this time period. The results and findings of these investigations are discussed with a perspective to provide policy recommendations for air quality improvements in BMR.

Air pollution is a serious issue that affects many parts of the world, Southeast Asia in particular. Nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and other emissions have negative impacts on human health as well as overall environmental quality. The major sources in Thailand are open burning and fossil fuel combustion, i.e. in vehicles, energy use in industries and power generation. Given increasing actual and projected GDP growth, subsequent increases in energy consumption are inevitable. The power generation system must grow and expand as well to meet changes in demand from industrial, commercial, and residential customers. The Ministry of Energy of Thailand has published the Power Development Plan 2015 (PDP 2015) to outline policies and goals of the growing power generation and transmission systems throughout the nation. Notably, the plan involves increasing the use of coal-fired generation. Using both the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies Model (GAINS) and the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx), we have compared two different emissions scenarios: one with standard emission control technology, and another with maximum feasible emission controls. The effectiveness of emission control technology varied by region and pollutant. The greatest increase in air quality was located around the Rayong province in central Thailand. For PM₁₀ in the northern Thailand, however, emission control technologies did little to improve the air quality because the main source of pollutant, biomass burning, was left unabaited. This forecast of air quality can show possible impacts from future emissions in Thailand and regions that may benefit from added emission control technology in the future.