Air pollution in the Thai capital forced more than 350 schools to close on Friday, city authorities said, the highest number

Flying through Bangkok's cloudless blue skies, a small aircraft sprays a white mist over a thick haze of pea soup smog below.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration urged people to work from home for the rest of the week if they can, with air pollution forecast to worsen after already forcing the temporary closure of more than a dozen schools.

Jan 1

Air pollution in the Thai capital forced more than 350 schools to close on Friday, city authorities said, the highest number in five years. Bangkok officials also announced free public transport for a week in a bid to reduce traffic in a city notorious for noxious exhaust fumes.

Thai authorities on Friday closed over 350 schools in the capital Bangkok due to air pollution, according to local media. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has ordered the closure of all of its 352 schools and holding online classes due to the city’s poor air quality, the media outlet Khaosod English reported.

Seasonal air pollution has long afflicted Thailand, like many countries in the region, as colder, stagnant winter air combines with smoke from crop stubble burning and car fumes.