Many of us enjoyed the cool winds that over the past few weeks. An unfortunate downside to the advent of cooler weather in Thailand is the increasing levels of air pollution as we move into January, with AQI and PM2.5 levels fluctuating significantly.

We can expect more stringent guidelines from the government, especially given the sweeping vote in passing the Clean Air Bill recently in the Thai House of representatives. The Bill moves to the senate and once enacted, it will represent Thailand’s first comprehensive legal framework dedicated to combating air pollution, strengthening accountability, and safeguarding public health.

Every year at Bangkok Patana School, our Air Quality Policy is reviewed using national government sources and accredited international organisations. Student health and well-being is at the heart of the policy. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is displayed on the Firefly Dashboard, with a link to the Air Quality policy.

At Bangkok Patana, there are outdoor air quality monitoring units in three locations on campus. The readings from these units are combined with the readings from the Pollution Control Department’s monitors at Big C Bangna and BTS Bangna, to provide an hourly average. This is the average displayed on the Firefly Dashboard.

We have indoor air quality monitoring units in all buildings on campus. We watch these readings to ensure good air quality in the buildings throughout the school day. If the readings are not satisfactory, our health and safety team investigate to see what may be causing the change in air quality level, and work to solve the problem quickly. (In most cases, it is due to doors being left open!)

Please do familiarise yourself with our air quality policy, which details clearly how our teachers will proceed based on the readings.