61

The Effects of Policies and Measures for Vegetation Fire Events on
Air Pollution and Human Health in Thailand:
A Literature Review and Data Integration
Athicha UTTAJUG*
Department of Hygiene, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University
Kita 15, Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan*Email: u.athicha@med.hokudai.ac.jp

Abstract
Air pollution from vegetation fire events in Thailand is a serious public health concern, particularly in theupper northern region. In response, several policies and measures have been implemented to control such fire
events in this area. The objective of this study was to provide an update on the existing and current policies onvegetation fire events, their effects on air pollution and their influence on health by conducting a literature
review and integrating the relevant information. The findings reveal that strict regulations prohibiting burning
have had a significant effect on both air pollution and health after implementation compared to other policies.
Despite increased evidence of short-term health effects from air pollution from vegetation fires, there is a needfor additional research on chronic effects as well as studies that consider longer-term interventions throughpolicies and factors that might affect exposure levels when examining the beneficial effects of policies on
health impacts. Filling these knowledge gaps will help better define the potential health impacts of policies onvegetation fire events and further identify specific preventive interventions to promote health in this region in
the future.
Key words: air pollution, health effects, policy, upper northern Thailand, vegetation fire events

1. Introduction
Air pollution from vegetation fire events is a serious
environmental and health problem in Southeast Asia
(Vadrevu et al., 2019). The smoke from these fires affects
not only local areas, but also neighboring parts ofMyanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and othercountries (Yin et al., 2019). A previous study
demonstrated that air pollution from vegetation fires not
only degrades the local air quality but is also a common
transboundary pollutant (Targino et al., 2013). The maincauses of these fires are human activities and climate
factors. In upper northern Thailand (UNT), people often
use fire to clear land in forested areas (32%) or burnagricultural waste (17%) (Forest Fire Control Division,2003). Moreover, climate phenomena like El Nino also
increase the fire risk by inducing hot, dry conditions inthis region (Thirumalai et al., 2017).
Exposure to air pollution from vegetation fire events
poses health risks in UNT. Most studies have consistently
found an association between air pollution from
Global Environmental Research
27/2023 61-67
printed in Japanvegetation fires and respiratory morbidity (Mueller et al.,2020; Uttajug et al., 2021) and mortality (Pothirat et al.,2019). A previous study has estimated that approximately
130,000 hospital visits for respiratory diseases (1.3% of
total visits) were attributable to smoke haze from 2014 to2018 (Uttajug et al., 2022a).
Since 2002, Thailand has been taking various
measures to prevent and mitigate haze problems at thenational and regional levels. Thailand has alsocollaborated with other member countries in the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) toaddress transboundary haze under the ASEAN Agreement
on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), which wassigned in 2002 and entered into force in 2003. The
agreement aims to prevent and control transboundary hazepollution through cooperative activities and mutual
assistance among ASEAN members (Charusombat, 2023).
As part of the national haze action plan launched in 2004,
Thailand has introduced several actions to reduce air
pollution from fire events. These have included promoting
zero-burning campaigns and imposing strong penalties for©2023 AIRIES62

A. UTTAJUG

prohibited burning in forest areas (Uttajug et al., 2022b).
These measures have had beneficial impacts on air
pollution concentrations (Yabueng et al., 2020) and healtheffects (Uttajug et al., 2022b).
Previously, the studies reviewed have focused on thehealth effects of exposure to air pollution from vegetation
fires (Cheong et al., 2019; Phung et al., 2022;
Ramakreshnan et al., 2018), but none have demonstrated
how policies on vegetation fire events affect air pollution
and human health. The objective of this study was toreview the literature on existing and current policies ormeasures against vegetation fire events and their effects
on air pollution and human health in Thailand, as well as
to integrate disparate information to address the following
questions:· What are the existing current policies or measures for
reducing air pollution from vegetation fire events?
· What are the priority research and information needs
that can better prepare managers, policymakers andthe public to reach informed decisions related to theimpacts of air pollution from vegetation fire eventson human health?

2. Methods
2.1 Literature Review
Relevant publications were searched from electronic
reference databases (Pubmed and Web of Science) using
combinations of the key terms shown in Table 1. Only
full-text original or research articles related to theresearch questions conducted in Thailand were included.
Articles focusing on reviewing other articles were
excluded. Due to the scarcity of articles on policy
measures for reducing vegetation fires or air pollution
from fires in Thailand, both peer-reviewed andnon-peer-reviewed articles were included in this study. A
search using the key terms of Set 6 (Table 1) was
conducted to address the first research question. To
addressthesecondresearchquestion,
only
epidemiological studies with implementation (Set 9) andwithout it (Set 8) were considered in this study.
Table 1

2.2 Data Integration and Analysis
To evaluate the effectiveness of existing and current
policies or measures against vegetation fire events, areport titled “Standard Operating Procedure for NorthernHaze Response” (Pollution Control Department, 2019)
was analyzed along with environmental and mortality
information. The data were collected from 2012 to 2021
in UNT, which includes nine provinces: Chiang Mai,
Chiang Rai, Phrea, Phayao, Mae Hong Son, Nan,
Lamphun, Lampang and Tak.
2.2.1 Environmental Data
Daily concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 (μg/m3) wereobtained from background monitoring stations provided
by the Pollution Control Department of Thailand. The
data were gathered from two stations each for PM10 andPM2.5, all situated in Chiang Mai Province. This location
was chosen as it is representative of the UNT, given theavailability of historical data. Daily average
concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were computed for eachyear. Fire hotspot data were obtained from NASA’s Fire
Information for Resource Management Systems (FIRMS),
which, in brief, detects fire hotspots at a resolution of
1 km by Terra and Aqua satellites. Daily fire hotspots
were summed for UNT each year.
2.2.2 Mortalities Attributable to PM2.5
The number of mortalities attributable to PM2.5 wasestimated using UNT population data, the nationalmortality rate (https://data.worldbank.org/), concentrationresponse function (relative risk 1.004 (95% confidence
interval: 1.001, 1.008), (Uttajug et al., 2023)) andbackground PM2.5 concentration. The health burden
estimation method was documented in a previous study(Uttajug et al., 2022a). The estimation was performed forJanuary to April, during which intensive burning occurs inthis area. It was assumed that burning events mainly
emitted elevated PM2.5 concentrations during these
periods.

Key terms and searches.

SearchKey terms and searches
Policies or measures to reduce air pollution from vegetation fire events
Set 1
Regulation or abatement measure or campaign or law or ban or policy or control measure
Set 2
Air pollution or smoke haze
Set 3
Vegetation fire events or biomass burning or wildfire or bushfire or forest fire or fires
Set 4
Thailand or northern upper Thailand
Set 5
Publication year = 1990:2023
Set 6
Set 1 and Set 2 and Set 3 and Set 4 and Set 5
Effects of air pollution from fire events and policies on human health
Set 7
Public health or health or morbidity or mortality or hospitalization or hospital visits or clinic visits
Set 8
Set 2 and Set 3 and Set 4 and Set 5 and Set 7
Set 9
Set 6 and Set 7

Policy Impacts on Vegetation Fire, Air Quality, and Human Health in Thailand: A Review

3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Existing and Current Policies or Measures to
Reduce Air Pollution from Vegetation Fire Events.
A search for policies or measures on vegetation
fire events found five studies (Table 2). Four of themdescribed policies that had been implemented and some ofthem reported their effects on air pollution (Junpen et al.,2020; Kumar et al., 2020; Lualon et al., 2013; Yabueng
et al., 2020). One study proposed alternative measures toreduce air pollution from crop residue burning (Arunrat
et al., 2018).
Figure 1 shows how the data on policies onvegetation fire events, environmental information andhealth impacts from 2012 to 2021 was integrated in UNT.
According to a report from the Pollution Control
Department (PCD), several policies on vegetation fire
events had been enforced in UNT since 2004. A nationalhaze action plan was launched in 2004 to control open
burning, but there were no data on air pollution duringthat period. We could not estimate the pre-2012 mortality
because of the missing PM concentration data. Also, thisstudy only examined the main policies adopted to deal
with vegetation fires over time, without monitoring theiractual implementation. Thus, the effects on air quality andhealth outcomes may have been affected by a combinationof different policies or actions. In 2012, the PCD adopted
the Eight-Point Plan, which included a variety of actions
for reducing smoke haze from fire events. The plan
involved measures such as banning the burning ofagricultural residues for 80 days, preventing forest fires,promoting “burn-free villages,” engaging in corporatesocial responsibility programs and establishing an early
warning haze system among others (Lualon et al., 2013).
The Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) was
also introduced to encourage the use of crop residues toTable 2 Summary of studies on existing and current policies or measures to reduce air pollution from vegetation fire events.
Author (year)
Lualon et al.
(2013)

Implemented
policyEight-point plan
(enforced)

Kumar et al.
(2020)

Alternative Energy
Development Plan
(AEDP) (enforced)
Arunrat et al. Crop-residue(2018)
management(suggested)
Yabueng et al. Control of open
(2020)
burning (enforced)
Junpen et al.
(2020)NA:

Preharvest
sugarcane treatment(enforced)
Not reported

63

Year of
Details
implementation
2013
Implementation of several actions to reducesmoke haze such as promoting villages freefrom burning, establishing an early warning,
etc.
2012
Using crop residues for alternative energy
instead of burning them.

Effects on air pollution
NA

NA

Implementation of an integrated farming
system, which might result in less burning.

Reduced PM2.5 emissions

2016

Strict implementation of the burning ban andlegal enforcement of the policy

2019

Change of cutting conditions during harvest
from burned sugarcane to fresh sugarcane.

Reduction in the number of fire
hotspots and PM emissions, but
prolonged periods of burning still
exist
Reduced air pollution emissions in
the first year of implementation

Fig. 1 Timeline of major policies/measures implemented to address vegetation fires, environmental factors and healthimpacts in upper northern Thailand from 2012 to 2021. It should be noted that mortality attributable to PM 2.5 before
2012 was not estimated due to lack of PM concentration measurements. The daily average concentrations of PM 2.5
and PM10 and numbers of mortalities attributable to PM2.5 were estimated for January to April of each year.

64

A. UTTAJUG

produce alternative energy rather than just burning them
(Kumar et al., 2020). However, none of the reviewed
studies reported the effects of these policies on air
pollution. Arunrat and his colleagues suggested that
implementing an integrated farming system could reduce
PM2.5 emissions by reducing burning activities (Arunrat
et al., 2018). These policies may have reduced fire eventsin UNT, as the number of fire hotspots decreased from2012 to 2016. However, neither PM2.5 nor PM10
concentrations changed during this period (Fig. 1).
In mid-May 2016, the policy on vegetation fires wasstrictly enforced and implemented. The National Reserved
Forest Act was amended to impose severe penalties andsanctions for violations of the ban on burning in forest
areas (Office of the Council of State of Thailand, 2016).
In addition, zero-burning and restricted burning periods
were also strictly applied in other land used in UNT (e.g.,
agricultural land). Figure 1 shows that the number of fire
hotspots, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations and the numberof mortalities attributable to PM2.5 decreased in the year
after the strict policy was implemented. Yabueng and hercolleagues also reported a reduction in PM2.5
concentrations after the legal enforcement (Yabueng et al.,2020). PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, however,increased after 2017, despite some measures being
implemented, such as allowing the use of reserved forests
for living, addressing dust pollution problems andmanaging the sugarcane preharvest (Fig. 1).
The main conclusion from the existing and current
policies on vegetation fire events to reduce air pollution isthat policies that were strictly implemented and legally
enforced were effective in reducing burning activities, air
pollution and health impacts. These policies may not besustainable, however, as the number of fire hotspots andPM2.5 and PM10 levels increased subsequently. The low
effectiveness of these policies may be due to a lack ofdetails on enforcement, or low participation by the people.
Moreover, policies on vegetation fire events targeting
different settings should be considered for reducing air
pollution and its health impacts. The studies reviewed
focused mostly on policies related to crop and agricultural
burning practices (e.g., rice and sugarcane). A previous
study, however, showed forest fires to be the main sourceof PM emissions in UNT (Phairuang et al., 2017).
Policies and actions that prioritize specific dominant areas
where burning occurs might have a greater impact on air
pollution and human health.
3.2 Priority Research and Information Needs thatCan Better Prepare Managers, Policymakers andthe Public to Reach Informed Decisions Related to
Air Pollution from Vegetation Fire Events on
Human Health.
The findings from this study’s literature review are
categorized into two groups: health effects from air
pollution due to vegetation fire events, and effects of firepolicies on health outcomes. Table 3 summarizes ninestudies examining the effects of air pollution from fire
events and policies on human health.
3.2.1 Health Effects from Air Pollution Due to
Vegetation Fire Events
In this section, exposure assessment and healthoutcomes from the reviewed studies are summarized anddata/research gaps are identified. All of the studies used
continuous air pollution concentration data in theiranalyses, but they differed in how they defined air
pollution from vegetation fires. Most studies used atemporal indicator to assume that air pollution was mainly
from fire events during specific periods (Wiwanitkit,
2007; Mueller et al., 2020; Uttajug et al., 2022;
Prapamontol et al., 2023). Some studies used fire hotspot
data from satellites (Mueller et al., 2021), or a thresholdvalue of PM10 combined with fire hotspots (Uttajug et al.,2021). The remaining studies performed analyses using
air pollution concentrations without defining how theyassessed exposure to vegetation fire events (Wiwatanadateand Liwsrisakun, 2011; Vajanapoom et al., 2020; Pothirat
et al., 2021).
For the health outcomes, short-term exposure andlong-term exposure were considered in this study as
different in duration (short-term: hours to weeks,long-term: months to years) and health outcomes ofinterest. The findings revealed that eight studies wereconducted to examine short-term effects of exposure to air
pollution from fire events using symptom diagnosis,
surveys, surveillance, hospital visits and mortality. Only
one study investigated the long-term effects of exposure
to air pollution from fire events using birth weight as ahealth outcome (Mueller et al., 2021).
The findings showed that most of the studies focusedon short-term health effects, but a few explored thelong-term effects of exposure to air pollution fromvegetation fire events. A previous study reported a highincidence of lung cancer in the northern region comparedto other regions of Thailand (Virani et al., 2017). Smoking
and air pollution are well-known risk factors for lungcancer. Despite a decreasing trend in smoking in Thailand(Aungkulanon et al., 2019), the northern area still has ahigher incidence of lung cancer. So far, however, no
studies have examined the effects of long-term exposure
to air pollution from vegetation fire events on lung cancer
in this region. Understanding the role of air pollution fromburning on the cancer burden may help inform
policymakers and prompt preventative health policies in
the area. Based on this gap in the findings, there is a needfor cohort data, as well as an accurate and comprehensive
assessment of exposure to air pollution from vegetation
fire events in UNT.

Policy Impacts on Vegetation Fire, Air Quality, and Human Health in Thailand: A Review

65

Table 3 Summary of studies on the effects of air pollution from burning events and policies on human health.
Studyperiod2007

Implemented
Exposure
policyassessment
NA
PM10

2005–2006

NA

Northern
Thailand2014–2017

Vajanapoom
et al. (2020)

Chiang Mai,
ThailandMueller et al.
(2021)

Author (year)

Location

Wiwanitkit(2008)
WiwatanadateandLiwsrisakun(2011)

Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Chiang Mai,
ThailandMueller et al.
(2020)

Health outcome

Methods

Influenza

Correlation test

PM10, SO2,
NO2, O3, andCO1) Peak
expiratory flowrates2) Symptoms inasthmatics

NA

Binaryindicator of
intensiveburning

2002–2016

Haze control
measures(2008–2011)

PM10, SO2,
NO2, O3, andCO

Hospital visits
for respiratory
andcardiovasculardiseasesMortality

Panel study
1) General linear
mixed regression
2) Generalized
estimating
equationsTime series
analysis withgeneralized linear
regression

Allprovinces inThailand,except for
Bangkok

2015–2018

NA

PM10 and fire
hotspot countPothirat et al.
(2021)

Chiang Mai,
Thailand

2016–2018

NA

PM2.5 and
PM10

Uttajug et al.
(2021)

Northern
Thailand2014–2018

NA

PM10 (burningdays
identified)

Hospital visitsby children

Uttajug et al.
(2022)

Northern
Thailand2014–2018

PM10

Prapamontol
et al. (2023)

Northern
ThailandAug.–Sep.
2017 andFeb.– Mar.
2018

Burning ban
in forest
areas (2016)
NA

Hospital visits
for respiratory
diseases
Respiratory
infections

PM10 and O3

3.2.2 Effects of Policies on Burning on Health
Outcomes
Among the nine epidemiological studies, two wereconducted to investigate the effects of policies onvegetation fire events on health outcomes. A study
conducted by Vajanapoom and her team found a
non-significant reduction in mortality after the
implementation of haze control measures during
2008–2011 (Vajanapoom et al., 2020). Another study
reported a significant reduction in hospital visits due torespiratory diseases when a policy banning burning inforest areas was enforced in 2016 (Uttajug et al., 2022b).
Based on the above findings, additional research isneeded to investigate the effects of longer term programs
to regulate vegetation fire events on health outcomes.
Moreover, the role of individual and neighborhoodsocioeconomic status on exposure and health should beconsidered together with environmental policies in futurestudies. This integration may be important in reducing
exposure to air pollution at the community and individuallevels (Giles et al., 2011).

Birth weight:
1) Continuous
variable2.) Binary
variable of lowbirth weight(< 2,500 grams)
Mortality

Key findings
Neutralcorrelation
1) Positive
association
2) Nullassociation
Positiveassociation

Time- stratified
case-crossover
analysis fitted withconditional
logistic regression
Semi-ecologicalstudy design with
1) linear and2) logistic
regression

Non-significant
reduction in
health outcomesTime series
analysis withgeneralized linear
regression
Time-stratified
case-crossover
analysis fitted withconditional
logistic regression
Interrupted timeseries analysis

Positiveassociation

Multilevel logistic
regression

1) Reverse
association
2) Nullassociation

Positiveassociation

Significant
reduction in
health outcomes
Positiveassociation

4. Conclusions
This study reviewed previous studies and compiled
several pieces of information to address how existing andcurrent policies on vegetation fire events affect air quality
and its influence on health in upper northern Thailand. It
also examined the need for priority research andinformation related to policies on fire events and theireffects on health. This study found that strict regulations
had a significant impact on both air pollution and healthimpacts once they were implemented. However, they had
low effectiveness, as PM concentrations and the healthburden have remained the same during the past decade.
Air pollution from vegetation fire events had short-term
negative health impacts on the people living in UNT, butthere was no evidence of chronic effects. Future studies
should consider longer-term interventions by policies andintegrate the factors that might affect exposure levels
when examining the beneficial effects of policies on
health outcomes.

66

A. UTTAJUG

Acknowledgement
This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant
Number 22K21197.
References
Arunrat, N., Pumijumnong, N. and Sereenonchai, S. (2018)
Air-pollutant emissions from agricultural burning in Mae Chaem
Basin, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Atmosphere, 9: 145.
Aungkulanon, S., Pitayarangsarit, S., Bundhamcharoen, K.,
Akaleephan, C., Chongsuvivatwong, V., Phoncharoen, R. andTangcharoensathien, V. (2019) Smoking prevalence andattributable deaths in Thailand: predicting outcomes of different
tobacco control interventions. BMC Public Health, 19: 984.
Charusombat, P. (2023) ASEAN cooperation on transboundary hazepollution: The perspective of institutional incremental change.
Journal of Environmental Information Science, 2022: 1–12.
Cheong, K.H., Ngiam, N.J., Morgan, G.G., Pek, P.P., Tan, B.Y., Lai,
J.W., Koh, J.M., Ong, M.E.H. and Ho, A.F.W. (2019) Acutehealth impacts of the Southeast Asian transboundary haze
problem-A review. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, 16.
Forest Fire Control Division (2003) Forest Fire Description.
http://www.dnp.go.th/forestfire/Eng/description.htm (accessed 12
September 2023)
Giles, L.V., Barn, P., Kunzli, N., Romieu, I., Mittleman, M.A., van
Eeden, S., Allen, R., Carlsten, C., Stieb, D., Noonan, C. et al.
(2011) From good intentions to proven interventions:effectiveness of actions to reduce the health impacts of air
pollution. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119: 29–36.
Junpen, A., Pansuk, J. and Garivait, S. (2020) Estimation of reduced
air emissions as a result of the implementation of the measure to
reduce burned sugarcane in Thailand. Atmosphere, 11: 366.
Kumar, I., Bandaru, V., Yampracha, S., Sun, L. and Fungtammasan,
B. (2020) Limiting rice and sugarcane residue burning in
Thailand: Current status, challenges and strategies. Journal ofEnvironmental Management, 276: 111228.
Lualon, U., Ledpornsuttirat, N., Zusman, E. and Sano, D. (2013)
Environmental governance and short-lived climate pollutants(SLCPs): the case of open burning in Thailand. Institute for
Global Environmental Strategies, IGES Working Paper No.
2013-03.
Mueller, W., Loh, M., Vardoulakis, S., Johnston, H.J., Steinle, S.,
Precha, N., Kliengchuay, W., Tantrakarnapa, K. and Cherrie, J.W.
(2020) Ambient particulate matter and biomass burning: an
ecological time series study of respiratory and cardiovascularhospital visits in northern Thailand. Environmental Health, 19:77.
Mueller, W., Tantrakarnapa, K., Johnston, H.J., Loh, M., Steinle, S.,
Vardoulakis, S. and Cherrie, J.W. (2021) Exposure to ambientparticulate matter and biomass burning during pregnancy:
associations with birth weight in Thailand. Journal of Exposure
Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 31, 672–682.
Office of the Council of State of Thailand ed. (2016) National
Reserved Forests Act (No. 4), B.E. 2559.
Phairuang, W., Hata, M. and Furuuchi, M. (2017) Influence ofagricultural activities, forest fires and agro-industries on air
quality in Thailand. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 52: 85–
97.
Phung, V.L.H., Uttajug, A., Ueda, K., Yulianti, N., Latif, M.T. andNaito, D. (2022) A scoping review on the health effects of smokehaze from vegetation and peatland fires in Southeast Asia: Issues
with study approaches and interpretation. PLoS ONE, 17:e0274433.

Pollution Control Department (2019) Standard operating procedure
for northern haze response (Ministry of Natural Resource andEnvironment). Retrieved from: http://air4thai.com/tagoV2/tago_
file/books/book_file/b2b90b38b2b1026ed2c29b001e17d05f.pdf(accessed 5 September 2023)
Pothirat, C., Chaiwong, W., Liwsrisakun, C., Bumroongkit, C.,
Deesomchok, A., Theerakittikul, T., Limsukon, A.,
Tajarernmuang, P. and Phetsuk, N. (2019) Acute effects of air
pollutants on daily mortality and hospitalizations due tocardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Journal of Thoracic
Disease, 11: 3070–3083.
Pothirat, C., Chaiwong, W., Liwsrisakun, C., Bumroongkit, C.,
Deesomchok, A., Theerakittikul, T., Limsukon, A.,
Tajarernmuang, P. and Phetsuk, N. (2021) The short-term
associations of particular matters on non-accidental mortality andcauses of death in Chiang Mai, Thailand: a time series analysis
study between 2016–2018. International Journal ofEnvironmental Health Research, 31: 538–547.
Prapamontol, T., Norback, D., Thongjan, N., Suwannarin, N.,
Somsunun, K., Ponsawansong, P., Radarit, K., Kawichai, S. andNaksen, W. (2023) Respiratory infections among junior highschool students in upper northern Thailand: The role of building
dampness and mould, biomass burning and outdoor relative air
humidity (RH). Environmental Research, 231: 116065.
Ramakreshnan, L., Aghamohammadi, N., Fong, C.S., Bulgiba, A.,
Zaki, R.A., Wong, L.P. and Sulaiman, N.M. (2018) Haze andhealth impacts in ASEAN countries: a systematic review.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 25:
2096–2111.
Targino, A.C., Krecl, P., Johansson, C., Swietlicki, E., Massling, A.,
Coraiola, G.C. and Lihavainen, H. (2013) Deterioration of air
quality across Sweden due to transboundary agricultural burningemissions. Boreal Environment Research, 18(1): 19.
Thirumalai, K., DiNezio, P.N., Okumura, Y. and Deser, C. (2017)
Extreme temperatures in Southeast Asia caused by El Nino andworsened by global warming. Nature Communications, 8: 15531.
Uttajug, A., Ueda, K., Honda, A. and Takano, H. (2022a)
Estimation of hospital visits for respiratory diseases attributable
to PM(10) from vegetation fire smoke and health impacts ofregulatory intervention in Upper Northern Thailand. Scientific
Reports, 12: 18515.
Uttajug, A., Ueda, K., Oyoshi, K., Honda, A. and Takano, H. (2021)
Association between PM(10) from vegetation fire events andhospital visits by children in upper northern Thailand. Science of
The Total Environment, 764: 142923.
Uttajug, A., Ueda, K., Seposo, X.T., Honda, A. and Takano, H.
(2022b) Effect of a vegetation fire event ban on hospital visits forrespiratory diseases in Upper Northern Thailand. International
Journal of Epidemiology, 51: 514–524.
Uttajug, A., Ueda, K., Seposo, X.T., Phosri, A., Phung, V.L.H. and
Ahmad Tajudin, M.A.B. (2023) The effects of co-exposure to air
pollution from vegetation fires and extreme heat on mortality inUpper Northern Thailand. (In preparation for submission)
Vadrevu, K.P., Lasko, K., Giglio, L., Schroeder, W., Biswas, S. andJustice, C. (2019) Trends in Vegetation fires in South andSoutheast Asian Countries. Scientific Reports, 9: 7422.
Vajanapoom, N., Kooncumchoo, P. and Thach, T.Q. (2020) Acuteeffects of air pollution on all-cause mortality: a naturalexperiment from haze control measures in Chiang Mai Province,
Thailand. PeerJ, 8: e9207.
Virani, S., Bilheem, S., Chansaard, W., Chitapanarux, I., Daoprasert,
K., Khuanchana, S., Leklob, A., Pongnikorn, D., Rozek, L.S.,
Siriarechakul, S. et al. (2017) National and subnational
population-based incidence of cancer in Thailand: assessing
cancers with the highest burdens. Cancers (Basel), 9(8): 108.
Wiwanitkit, V. (2008) PM10 in the atmosphere and incidence ofPolicy Impacts on Vegetation Fire, Air Quality, and Human Health in Thailand: A Review
respiratory illness in Chiangmai during the smoggy pollution.
Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 22:
437–440.
Wiwatanadate, P. and Liwsrisakun, C. (2011) Acute effects of air
pollution on peak expiratory flow rates and symptoms among
asthmatic patients in Chiang Mai, Thailand. International
Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 214: 251–257.
Yabueng, N., Wiriya, W. and Chantara, S. (2020) Influence ofzero-burning policy and climate phenomena on ambient PM2.5
patterns and PAHs inhalation cancer risk during episodes ofsmoke haze in Northern Thailand. Atmospheric Environment,
232: 117485.
Yin, S., Wang, X., Zhang, X., Guo, M., Miura, M. and Xiao, Y.
(2019) Influence of biomass burning on local air pollution in
mainland Southeast Asia from 2001 to 2016. Environmental
Pollution, 254: 112949.

67

Athicha UTTAJUG
Athicha Uttajug, PhD, is a specially appointed
assistant professor in the Department of Hygiene,
Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido
University. She completed her PhD in 2021 at theGraduate School of Engineering, Department ofEnvironmental Engineering, Kyoto University. Her specialization lies inenvironmental epidemiology with a focus on studying the health impacts of
air pollution and climate change. Currently, she is engaged in research toinvestigate the effects of extreme weather events on various healthoutcomes and healthcare facilities, using statistical modeling.

(Received 12 September 2023, Accepted 26 December 2023)