“Heavily reliant on gas for decades, Thailand now finds it no longer cheap nor clean”, 9 April 2026

Dark horizons are a familiar sight in Thailand’s capital. Air pollution in Bangkok is persistent year-round, not only during smog episodes, which often occur during cooler months.

Studies show annual levels of PM2.5, harmful microscopic pollution particles in the air, consistently exceed safety guidelines by the World Health Organisation…

Communities living alongside gas infrastructure say they are the ones most acutely feeling pollution impacts, not only through the air they breathe, but also through their water supplies, agricultural fields and fishing grounds…

In Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok and part of the EEC, pre-construction work appeared underway at the proposed site of the 540 MW Burapha Power Plant.

Originally meant to be a coal plant and after more than 15 years of delays and disputes, it was finally approved in October last year.

For nearby communities, it was yet another blow to the environment, in an already heavily industrialised zone, for a facility they say the country does not need.

Gunn Tattiyakul, a local resident and environmental activist, has watched pollution problems appear over the years. He said he has seen the groundwater turn salty and the province’s famous mango crops increasingly fail.

“I was born and raised here, and I’ve lived my whole life in this place. I’ve seen how the natural resources, once abundant, are now deteriorating,” he said…

“People in Bangkok may think electricity is necessary, and we do not deny that,” said Artorn Panyapateep, an abbott and community leader in the village of Laem Khao Chan in Chachoengsao.

“But we want them to understand the people living around the plants, who suffer from dust, smell, noise and wastewater,” he said. “That is what we want them to care about.”