A fire broke out at a landfill in northern Thailand adding to the country's persistent air pollution problem.

Firefighters tackled the flames spreading throughout the 30 acre site in the Sahatsakhan district of Kalasin province.

Sahatsakhan district chief Waewta Naratat said that the fire began on March 12 and had razed 90 per cent of the landfill area.

Firefighters have controlled the fire but were ordered to keep monitoring because of dry and windy conditions.

Kalasin Governor Supasit Korcharoenyot held a meeting with local officials on March 14 to discuss solutions to the air pollution and fire problem.

It was proposed to drill artesian wells to reduce travel time for firetrucks loading up on water.

Tawatchai Boonyanan, chief executive of the Sahatsakhan Subdistrict Administrative Organisation, said residents, especially those with respiratory diseases, have been affected by the smoke blown by the wind towards residential areas, with some of them evacuating to keep from falling ill.

Thailand's public healthy ministry reportd that more than 1.3 million people have become sick due to persistent air pollution since January. This week, almost 200,000 people were hospitalised.

Scientists found that the smog in Thailand is at its worst when farmers burn waste crops to cheaply clear their land between late October and April. This is combined with high numbers of polluting cars on the road and large construction projects across the capital.

The seasonal lack of wind and rain, combined with a winter low-pressure system in which cold air is trapped closer to the ground by warm air above – prevent the pollution from being dispersed naturally.

The Thai government has been criticised for failing to tackle the country's air pollution crisis, with bizarre measures such as spraying water into the air and giant purifiers having no impact.