Thai farmers continued burning waste crops despite heavy smoke shrouding swathes of Thailand.

Footage shows from rural Nakhon Ratchasima today shows smoke rising from a field being burned to clear rice husks ahead of a new planting season.

Thananchai Wannasuk, director of Regional Environmental Office 11, said PM 2.5 levels in the provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Buriram, and Surin have reached 60 microgrammes per cubic metre - twelve times the 'safe' level of five set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Citing data from the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, he said: 'There are 31 hotspots in Nakhon Ratchasima, six in Chaiyaphum, 21 in Buriram, and 15 in Surin. Most of these are found in agricultural areas that are preparing to plant rice and sugarcane.'

'There is also smoke from neighbouring countries blowing into Thailand.'

He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with other Southeast Asian nations to inform them about hotspots in their territory.

Meanwhile, local authorities were warning residents to cease open-air burning as it was against the law.

Dangerous levels of deadly PM 2.5 particles are recorded every year in Thailand between December and April.

Despite paying lip service for several years, politicians have failed to stop individuals from burning their land due to it being cheaper and easier than modern farming methods.

In March 2023, the Public Health Ministry of Thailand reported that around 1.3 million people in the country had been unwell due to the rising levels of air pollution. Officials said 200,000 residents were hospitalised in a single week.

They warned hospitals in December 2023 to prepare for an influx of patients.

It came as researchers from Peking University in Beijing, China, also discovered that long-term exposure to particulate matter PM.25 air pollution is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer.

In December, Dr Krittai Thanasombatkul from Chiang Mai, Thailand, died of lung cancer. He had previously blamed PM 2.5 microdust particles for his condition.

The New York State Department of Health say PM 2.5 increases the risk of heart disease, asthma, and low birth weight.

While medics from South Korea published research in the National Institute of Health in the United States that said the pollutant increases the risk of stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and other illnesses such as immune deficiency and even obesity.