Air quality in Tron

Is Tron a highly polluted city?

Tron, like many cities, districts and towns in the northern region of Thailand, is subject to some severe spikes in air pollution over various months of the year. Whilst these pollution spikes tend to come from a singular source, there are also many other causes of ambient year round air pollution, with an increase in population size, vehicle ownership and construction all adding to the pollution levels.

To measure these levels, units such as US AQI and PM2.5 will be used, with PM2.5 typically being used to calculate yearly or monthly averages from times past, whilst US AQI is a prominent indicator of current or up to date pollution readings, as available on this page, as well as on various air quality maps available throughout the IQAir website and the AirVisual app.

US AQI is a number aggregated from the main pollutants found in the air, both in Tron, as well as all cities throughout the world (due to their prevalence from all of the ‘normal’ or standard pollution sources such as cars, factories and open burn sites). Some of the pollutants that are used to calculate the overall level of US AQI present in the air are sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and ozone (O₃).

All of these pollutants see large amounts of release from various combustion sources, with ones such as NO₂ being emitted in large quantities by vehicles and the like. Ozone itself is a secondary pollutant created when the various oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are exposed to large amounts of sunlight, or solar radiation, thus converting into ozone.

Observing the levels of US AQI present in Tron as of early June in 2021, it can be seen that a reading of 37 was recorded, putting Tron into the ‘good’ air quality ratings bracket for that particular day in which it was taken. A good air quality rating (which is the best one on the US AQI ratings scale) requires a reading of anywhere between 0 to 50 to be classified as such, and is color coded as green. These various ratings of air pollution all have their own color coding, ranging from green all the way up to maroon (301+ on the US AQI reading and the highest rating of pollution present).

This is indicative that whilst Tron is subject to some months that have severe levels of air pollution present (typically coming in during the burning season that takes place most prominently in northern Thailand, occurring between December through to April of the following year), it also has certain time periods in which the air quality becomes of significantly greater quality, free from smoke, haze and dangerous clouds of fine particles. Other readings of US AQI that were taken over May and June of 2021 were ones such as 61 and 69, both of which represent a rise in the air pollution ratings bracket, coming in as ‘moderately’ polluted (51 to 100 required and color coded as yellow).

In closing, as mentioned, Tron can have some very clean air quality levels, particularly during the months that see little amounts of highly illegal and damaging slash and burn farming practices taking place. Readings as low as 17 US AQI were taken in late May, with the more highly polluted months and their health risks being discussed in the following questions.

Where does pollution come from in Tron?

Whilst the level of US AQI was predominantly discussed in the previous question, two more types of pollution that go into its calculation were the two fine particulate matters, PM2.5 and PM10.

PM2.5 is usually considered as being of the ultrafine variety (roughly 30% the size of a human hair at 2.5 micrometers in diameter, often going to sizes many microns smaller), whilst PM10 is considered as larger or of the ‘coarse’ variety. Out of all the pollutants used in the US AQI calculation, PM2.5 is seen as the most dangerous of out all of them, due to its incredibly small size allowing it to penetrate deep into the tissue of the lungs and pass over into the bloodstream.

The causes of pollution in Tron that cause elevated readings of both PM2.5 and US AQI are ones such as emissions and fumes from cars, with many of the ones in use being considerably older or aged, thus giving out more noxious oil vapors and damaging particles due to its inefficient of unclean combustion process. Construction sites, road repairs and the open burning of refuse or garbage would also be ambient contributors.

However, as mentioned before, the number one offender for air pollution elevations present in Tron and indeed many cities in northern Thailand is that of crop burning, along with these fires being used to clear vast swathes of forested areas to make room for plantations. Besides being highly damaging to the environment and various ecosystems, the results smoke and particles that can enter the air can cause a myriad of health effects to those that are exposed.

What health effects can occur when breathing polluted air in Tron?

For those who are unfortunate enough to suffer from prolonged exposure to air pollution caused by the mass burning of organic matter in Tron, the illnesses associated it would be all manner of respiratory and cardiac ailments, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being among them.

Pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma would also present themselves, being part of the COPD bracket. Skin irritation, lung irritation and inflammation, as well as more serious health issues such as heart attacks, strokes, ischemic heart disease and even death can occur as a result.

When is Tron at its most polluted?

Observing the PM2.5 levels on record from 2020, it can be seen that Tron came in with a yearly average of 27.5 μg/m³, placing it in 471^st place out of all cities ranked worldwide for that year. The months that had the highest PM2.5 readings were January through to April (directly over the burning season period). January through to March all had ‘unhealthy’ air quality readings (55.5 μg/m³ or beyond required), whilst April came in with a 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' reading at 52.2 μg/m³.

The most highly polluted month of the year was January, with a elevated reading of 83.1 μg/m³, eight times higher than the WHO's target goal for the best level of air quality at 10 μg/m³ or less.

When does the air pollution level start to improve in Tron?

After the burning season pollution clouds start to abate, the months of June through to October show some extremely good readings of air quality, all of them coming in within the WHO's target goal of 10 μg/m³ or less, indicating a great quality of air that would be safe for all members of the population.

Out of all of these months, June had the cleanest monthly average at 5.9 μg/m³. For those living in or visiting Tron, the months that follow the burning season period would be the safest time for movement throughout the area.