Thai locals are seen wearing face masks as the pollution levels soar in Bangkok on January 15, 2019.

A thick blanket of smog from car fumes and construction projects has engulfed the city. It is expected to last for the next month.

The debilitating smog has seen record sales of face masks, with many stores now sold out.

Officials have begun spraying water into the air as a response to the pollution and planes also flew over eastern regions dumping water from the sky.

The pollution cloud - a deadly cloud of fine dust particles and other air pollutants - has been carpeting since January 12. It is eight times higher than the safe limit.

Health experts have warned that the pollution is a ''silent killer'' and that at current levels was extremely harmful to anyone stepping outside. They said the cost of treating people could run into ''millions of dollars''.

Witsanu Attavanich, associate professor of economics at Kasetsart University, said: ''Air pollution is really a silent killer and many Thais underestimate the danger to their health, so not many people protect themselves by wearing a facemask or installing air purifiers at home.''

Visibility in some parts of Bangkok was reduced to just 1km while air quality levels rocketed past the safe zone.

Thai locals are seen wearing face masks as the pollution levels soar in Bangkok on January 15, 2019.

A thick blanket of smog from car fumes and construction projects has engulfed the city. It is expected to last for the next month. The debilitating smog has seen record sales of face masks, with many stores now sold out.

Officials have begun spraying water into the air as a response to the pollution and planes also flew over eastern regions dumping water from the sky.


The pollution cloud - a deadly cloud of fine dust particles and other air pollutants -
has been carpeting since Saturday January 12. It is eight times higher than the safe limit.

It is caused by high numbers of cars on the road, an explosion in construction projects and the city's hundreds of thousands of street food sellers barbecuing food outdoors.

Health experts have warned that the pollution is a ''silent killer'' and that at current levels was extremely harmful to anyone stepping outside. They said the cost of treating people could run into ''millions of dollars''.

Witsanu Attavanich, associate professor of economics at Kasetsart University, said: ''Air pollution is really a silent killer and many Thais underestimate the danger to their health, so not many people protect themselves by wearing a facemask or installing air purifiers at home.''

Visibility in some parts of Bangkok was reduced to just 1km while air quality levels rocketed past the safe zone.

The PM2.5 air-quality index (AQI) in parts of Bangkok reached 394 microgrammes per cubic, far past the safe 50 level.