Urban populations, in diverse geographic settings, experience increases in mortality due to both high and low temperatures. The effects of heat and cold vary depending on climate and non-climate factors such as the population disease profile and age structure. Although such populations will undergo some adaptation to increasing temperatures, many are likely to have substantial vulnerability to climate change. Additional research is needed to elucidate vulnerability within populations.

BackgroundAir pollution data in Bangkok, Thailand, indicate that levels of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10) are significantly higher than in most cities in North America and Western Europe, where the health effects of PM10 are well documented. However, the pollution mix, seasonality, and demographics are different from those in developed Western countries. It is important, therefore, to determine whether the large metropolitan area of Bangkok is subject to similar effects of PM10.ObjectivesThis study was designed to investigate the mortality risk from air pollution in Bangkok, Thailand.MethodsThe study period extended from 1999 to 2003, for which the Ministry of Public Health provided the mortality data. Measures of air pollution were derived from air monitoring stations, and information on temperature and relative humidity was obtained from the weather station in central Bangkok. The statistical analysis followed the common protocol for the multicity PAPA (Public Health and Air Pollution Project in Asia) project in using a natural cubic spline model with smooths of time and weather.ResultsThe excess risk for non-accidental mortality was 1.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8–1.7] per 10 μg/m3 of PM10, with higher excess risks for cardiovascular and above age 65 mortality of 1.9% (95% CI, 0.8–3.0) and 1.5% (95% CI, 0.9–2.1), respectively. In addition, the effects from PM10 appear to be consistent in multipollutant models.ConclusionsThe results suggest strong associations between several different mortality outcomes and PM10. In many cases, the effect estimates were higher than those typically reported in Western industrialized nations.

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Lack of daily data on airborne particles has been a common problem in an air pollution research. To deal with this problem, a regression model was developed to estimate daily PM10 concentration using visibility in Bangkok from 1992 to 1997, based on 1092 visibility / PM10 pair -observations on low humidity days ( humidity 76.5% ) . Visibility was significantly and inversely associated with PM10 ( r = 0.71 ) , after adjusting for minimum temperature and winter indicator variable. The R 2 of the model was 0.51. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology ( 2001 ) 11, 97 ± 102.

Background Serious haze episodes have been a seasonal event in Chiang Mai province for more than a decade. In 2008, local government agencies introduced comprehensive measures to control haze and limit its impacts on public health. This study assessed the acute effects of ambient air pollutants on all-cause mortality before and after the introduction of those haze control measures. Methods We obtained daily mortality counts and data on mass concentrations of particulate matter <10 micron in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO2, O3, and CO), and meteorology in Chiang Mai Province between January 2002 and December 2016. We analyzed the data using a case-crossover approach adjusting for temperature, relative humidity, seasonality, and day-of-week. We assessed change in the excess risks of all-cause mortality associated with an increase in interquartile range (IQR) of pollutant concentration before and after control measures came into force. Results We found decreased PM10 levels and markedly reduced excess risks of daily mortality associated with an IQR increase in PM10 concentrations in the years after haze-control measures were implemented (2009–2016). We found mixed results for gaseous pollutants: SO2 showed no significant change in excess risk of daily mortality throughout the study period, while NO2 and CO showed significant excess risks only in the period 2012–2016, and 8-h maximum O3 showed a decrease in excess risk despite an increase in its atmospheric levels after the introduction of haze control measures in 2008. Conclusions The findings indicate that the government haze control measures first introduced in Chiang Mai province in 2008 have successfully reduced episodic PM10 concentrations, which has led to a decrease in short-term all-cause mortality.