Abstract
Background
While a number of studies have published the health effects of climate change and air pollution, little has been studied in Thailand on the health effects following interactions between air pollution and climate change.
Objectives
The aim of the study was to explore the interplays between climate change and air pollution and how these in turn impact on human health among residents of Bangkok, Thailand.
Methods
We conducted a descriptive study based on existing data on air pollution from Thailand’s Pollution Control Department, data on number of vehicles from the Transport Statistics Subdivision under Thailand’s Department of Land Transport, data on rainfall and temperature from the Thai Meteorological Department, data on health outcomes from Thailand Ministry of Public Health, and demographic data from the Department of Provincial Administration.
Results
As of 2016, the Pollution Control Department of Thailand had a total of 17 air pollution monitoring stations around Bangkok, including 6 roadside and 11 general area stations. While there has been a downward trend in PM10 concentrations from 1992 to 2015, PM2.5 concentrations have not only been above-recommended standards but also going up. The number of registered vehicles in Bangkok peaked at more than one million in 2013, but since then a declining trend has been observed. In Bangkok, temperatures peaked around April, while rainfall peaked during the month of September. Overall, both annual minimum and maximum temperatures have been going up since 1951. The average amount of rainfall received monthly had two peaks, first in May and later in September. From 1951 to 2015, the mean annual rainfall in Thailand went below 1400Â mm only in 1977, 1979, and 1992. Mortality rates due to diseases of the circulatory and respiratory system have also been going up since 2010, with mortality rates per 100,000 population higher among males than females. While the number of outpatients due to diseases of the circulatory system continues to increase, outpatients due to respiratory diseases peaked around 2010, and since then a downward trend has been observed.
Conclusion
Results suggest possible correlations between air pollution-climate change interactions and mortality due to diseases of the respiratory and circulatory systems.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Beverland IJ, Cohen GR, Heal MR, Carder M, Yap C, Robertson C, Hart CL, Agius RM (2012) A comparison of short-term and long-term air pollution exposure associations with mortality in two cohorts in Scotland. Environ Health Perspect 120(9):1280–1285. doi:10.1289/ehp.1104509
Bureau of Policy and Strategy; Ministry of Public Health (2015) Public health statistics A.D. 2014. Printing Press of the War Veterans Organization of Thailand under Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, Bangkok, 230 p. ISSN 08570-3093
Chen R, Kan H, Chen B, Huang W, Bai Z, Song G, Pan G, CAPES Collaborative Group (2012) Association of particulate air pollution with daily mortality: the China Air Pollution and Health Effects Study. Am J Epidemiol 175(11):1173–1181. doi:10.1093/aje/kwr425
Chen H, Goldberg MS, Burnett RT, Jerrett M, Wheeler AJ, Villeneuve PJ (2013) Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and cardiovascular mortality. Epidemiology 24(1):35–43. doi:10.1097/EDE.0b013e318276c005
D’Amato G, Baena-Cagnani CE, Cecchi L, Annesi-Maesano I, Nunes C, Ansotegui I, D’Amato M, Liccardi G, Sofia M, Canonica WG (2013) Climate change, air pollution and extreme events leading to increasing prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases. Multidiscip Respir Med 8(1):12. doi:10.1186/2049-6958-8-12
D’Amato G, Holgate ST, Pawankar R, Ledford DK, Cecchi L, Al-Ahmad M, … Annesi-Maesano I (2015) Meteorological conditions, climate change, new emerging factors, and asthma and related allergic disorders. A statement of the World Allergy Organization. World Allergy Organ J 8(1):25. doi:10.1186/s40413-015-0073-0
Deguen S, Petit C, Delbarre A, Kihal W, Padilla C, Benmarhnia T, Lapostolle A, Chauvin P, Zmirou-Navier D (2015) Neighbourhood characteristics and long-term air pollution levels modify the association between the short-term nitrogen dioxide concentrations and all-cause mortality in Paris. PLoS One 10(7):e0131463. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131463
Franchini M, Mannucci PM (2015) Impact on human health of climate changes. Eur J Intern Med 26(1):1–5. doi:10.1016/j.ejim.2014.12.008
Guo Y, Li S, Tawatsupa B, Punnasiri K, Jaakkola JJ, Williams G (2014) The association between air pollution and mortality in Thailand. Sci Rep 4:5509. doi:10.1038/srep05509
Lagidze L, Matchavariani L, Tsivtsivadze N, Khidasheli N, Paichadze N, Motsonelidze N, Vakhtangishvili M (2015) Medical aspects of atmosphere pollution in Tbilisi, Georgia. J Environ Biol 36. Spec No:101–106
Li L, Yang J, Song YF, Chen PY, Ou CQ (2016) The burden of COPD mortality due to ambient air pollution in Guangzhou, China. Sci Rep 6:25900. doi:10.1038/srep25900
Meng X, Zhang Y, Zhao Z, Duan X, Xu X, Kan H (2012) Temperature modifies the acute effect of particulate air pollution on mortality in eight Chinese cities. Sci Total Environ 435–436:215–221. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.008
Mirsaeidi M, Motahari H, Taghizadeh Khamesi M, Sharifi A, Campos M, Schraufnagel DE (2016) Climate change and respiratory infections. Ann Am Thorac Soc. doi:10.1513/AnnalsATS.201511-729PS
Pope CA 3rd, Turner MC, Burnett RT, Jerrett M, Gapstur SM, Diver WR, Krewski D, Brook RD (2015) Relationships between fine particulate air pollution, cardiometabolic disorders, and cardiovascular mortality. Circ Res 116(1):108–115. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.305060
Schulte PA, Bhattacharya A, Butler CR, Chun HK, Jacklitsch B, Jacobs T, … Wagner GR (2016) Advancing the framework for considering the effects of climate change on worker safety and health. J Occup Environ Hyg 1–60. doi:10.1080/15459624.2016.1179388
Shang Y, Sun Z, Cao J, Wang X, Zhong L, Bi X, Liu W, Zhu T, Huang W (2013) Systematic review of Chinese studies of short-term exposure to air pollution and daily mortality. Environ Int 54:100–111. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2013.01.010
Tsai SS, Chen CC, Yang CY (2014) Short-term effect of fine particulate air pollution on daily mortality: a case-crossover study in a tropical city, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. J Toxicol Environ Health A 77(8):467–477. doi:10.1080/15287394.2014.881247
Vanos JK, Cakmak S, Kalkstein LS, Yagouti A (2015) Association of weather and air pollution interactions on daily mortality in 12 Canadian cities. Air Qual Atmos Health 8(3):307–320. doi:10.1007/s11869-014-0266-7
Vichit-Vadakan N, Vajanapoom N, Ostro B, HEI Health Review Committee (2010) Part 3. Estimating the effects of air pollution on mortality in Bangkok, Thailand. Res Rep Health Eff Inst (154):231–268
Xu Z, Huang C, Hu W, Turner LR, Su H, Tong S (2013) Extreme temperatures and emergency department admissions for childhood asthma in Brisbane, Australia. Occup Environ Med 70(10):730–735. doi:10.1136/oemed-2013-101538
Zhou X, Zhao A, Meng X, Chen R, Kuang X, Duan X, Kan H (2014) Acute effects of diurnal temperature range on mortality in 8 Chinese cities. Sci Total Environ 493:92–97. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.116
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Langkulsen, U., Rwodzi, D. (2018). Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Human Health in Bangkok. In: Akhtar, R., Palagiano, C. (eds) Climate Change and Air Pollution. Springer Climate. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61346-8_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61346-8_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-61345-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61346-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)