Singapore Air Force helps fight forest fires in Thai North

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND, March 18 (TNA) - Singapore's Air Force has provided two CNUK helicopters to help put out forest fires and relieve haze in the Thai North. The two Singapore CNUK choppers, which have been in Thailand for the ongoing COPE Tiger 2015 joint military exercises, was set to arrive in the northern Chiang Mai Province on Wednesday afternoon. Royal Thai Army Deputy Spokesperson Colonel Sirichan Nga-thong told journalists that the two Singapore Air Force choppers will join aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force and the Royal Thai Army in spraying water and conducting aerial patrols to survey areas hit or affected by forest fires. Based on an updated official report, particulate matters in Chaing Mai were measured at 235 micrograms per cubic metre at Yuparat Witthayalai School in Muang District, exceeding the safe standard level of 120 micrograms per cubic metre almost double. A total of 400 hot spots have been discovered across the northern Thai region so far, 127 of them have been reported in Chaing Mai alone. Meanwhile, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) has assessed that over one-million-rai areas in Chiang Mai are at risk of triggering wildfires, or about 10 per cent of the province's overall forest areas of 15 million rais in 15 districts, especially in Mae Chaem area, during March 16-22 (2.5 rais=1 acre). (TNA)