Officials in Prachuap Khiri Khan have held a meeting to discuss solutions to a possible drought this upcoming hot season, as well as monitoring air quality in the province.
On Friday (Mar 3) Mr. Satean Charoenyuen, the governor of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, chaired a meeting of the Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Committee and the Drought Prevention and Response Operations Centre.
Heads of government agencies and related organizations attended the meeting to follow up on measures to prevent and solve public emergencies in the area and to prepare for the drought situation in 2023. The meeting also addressed the current situation of forest fires, haze, and small PM2.5 dust particles.
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Despite the drop in air quality in recent weeks, the meeting was told that the PM2.5 dust particles in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province do not exceed the standard limits that way impact the health of the public, with the issue being deemed to be not as severe as in other areas of Thailand.
However, the province has collaborated with related agencies to implement a set of forest fire surveillance operations, establish a network of community volunteers to monitor forest fires and burning in open areas and agricultural areas.
The province also campaigned to raise public awareness of the problem of PM2.5 dust particles from burning in open areas, encouraged farmers to plow their fields and increase the value of agricultural waste materials, and enforced the inspection and control of vehicles that emit black smoke and industrial factories to prevent pollution.
Furthermore, the province will step up the cleaning of roads and public areas to reduce the dispersion of dust particles in the air.
In terms of drought prevention and response, the province has developed a plan to face the situation and assist affected people, including water management measures, support for drought-resistant crop cultivation, and the distribution of water sources for consumption and agricultural use.
The province has also encouraged farmers to adopt water-saving farming methods and to store water for use during droughts.
Additionally, the province has set up a drought monitoring system and established communication channels to provide timely assistance to affected people.
