Burning season is here!

We first learned about the burning season a few months ago. Apparently, every year around March, the plantations in Southeast Asia use controlled fires to clear the land of vegetation and make space for crops.

This results in the "Southeast Asian haze," an air pollution problem that affects much of Asia.  I have read that "slash-and-burn" agriculture is heavily regulated, but this doesn't seem to deter farmers from doing it in mass amounts.

Unfortunately, Chiang Mai sits in a bowl-like valley surrounded by mountains, which traps the polluted air. Dan and I have recently started to notice the effects. Due to decreased visibility, we can no longer see the mountains that surround the city, nor can we completely see stretches of road that were once visible to us.  Walking along the streets has become much less enjoyable, and working out a little more labored (or perhaps this is just a reverse placebo effect, or nocebo effect (yes, that phrase actually exists)).

The past few days, Chiang Mai has been in the "Moderate" zone, but today it has made it to the "Unhealthy" zone, which according to http://aqicn.org/ means that "Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects."

Where is Chiang Mai?

I guess it's good timing that we're leaving Thailand on March 30th. I'm definitely going to miss Chiang Mai, but I don't even want to imagine what the "Hazardous" zone is like...