This is Thailand's latest attempt to fight air pollution - a giant air purifier.

The huge machine was installed in front of Central World shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand last Thursday (10th October) morning.

Officials hope it will tackle the a chronic air pollution problem, which has seen several periods of thick clouds of smog choking the city.

Earlier this year, the city tried to disperse the haze cloud by spraying water into the air, which failed.

The solar-powered machine works instead by sucking in the polluted air and filtering it through turbines before pumping the fresh air back out from the top.

Officials said the purifier was a joint project between the government, Kasetsart University, and the private sector aimed at reducing air pollution in the city.

Bangkok provincial governor Police General Assawin Kwanmueng claimed the giant air purifier could clean a minimum of 17,000 square cubic metres of air every hour.

He said: "Thanks to the participation by the several parties, we have launched our latest attempt to fight the air pollution.

"The machine will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we believe it can produce over 17,000 square metres of fresh air in an hour.

"The polluted air concentration here was reduced from 31 microgrammes of PM 2.5 particles per cubic metres to 28 per cubic metres, immediately after the machine was turned on.

''We will keep collecting the statistics for three months before we decide what should be out next step to end this long-lasting problem.

"I hope this will be a crucial step towards the bigger goal of producing fresh air for all people."

Bangkok has been suffering from debilitating air pollution problems, which have become worse over the last couple of years.

In February, tens of thousands of residents suffered breathing problems and many reported that they had been coughing blood.

The pollution clouds are caused by soaring levels of PM2.5 particles filling the air. The safe level is 50 microgrammes per cubic metre but at times the level have surpassed 200.

This is Thailand's latest bizarre attempt to fight air pollution - a giant air purifier.

The huge machine was installed in front of Central World shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand last Thursday (10/10) morning.

Officials hope it will tackle the a chronic air pollution problem, which has seen several periods of thick clouds of smog choking the city.

Earlier this year, the city tried to disperse the haze cloud by spraying water into the air, which failed.

The solar-powered machine works instead by sucking in the polluted air and filtering it through turbines before pumping the fresh air back out from the top.

Officials said the purifier was a joint project between the government, Kasetsart University, and the private sector aimed at reducing air pollution in the city.

Bangkok provincial governor Police General Assawin Kwanmueng claimed the giant air purifier could clean a minimum of 17,000 square cubic metres of air every hour.

He said: "Thanks to the participation by the several parties, we have launched our latest attempt to fight the air pollution.

"The machine will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we believe it can produce over 17,000 square metres of fresh air in an hour.

"The polluted air concentration here was reduced from 31 microgrammes of PM 2.5 particles per cubic metres to 28 per cubic metres, immediately after the machine was turned on.

''We will keep collecting the statistics for three months before we decide what should be out next step to end this long-lasting problem.

"I hope this will be a crucial step towards the bigger goal of producing fresh air for all people."

Bangkok has been suffering from debilitating air pollution problems, which have become worse over the last couple of years.

In February, tens of thousands of residents suffered breathing problems and many reported that they had been coughing blood.

The pollution clouds are caused by soaring levels of PM2.5 particles filling the air. The safe level is 50 microgrammes per cubic metre but at times the level have surpassed 200.