00:00What if Thailand's hay season isn't just a seasonal inconvenience, but a slow-moving
00:05public health crisis that we've quietly learned to live with? What began years ago as a few
00:11alarming weeks of smog has now stretched into months of the year, returning earlier and lingering
00:17longer. And while many of us have grown used to checking PM2.5 levels like weather updates,
00:23the science behind those tiny particles is anything but routine. PM2.5 is small enough
00:30to enter the bloodstream and even reach the brain. It's been linked to lung cancer,
00:35cognitive decline, and developmental issues in children. In Thailand alone, millions of hospital
00:40visits have been associated with air pollution exposure. The causes are complex. Agricultural
00:47burning plays a role, but so do traffic emissions, industrial activity, and thousands of cross-border
00:53fires drifting in from neighboring countries. But here's the thing. Even if domestic burning
00:58stopped tomorrow, the haze wouldn't disappear overnight. There have been policy efforts,
01:04including a proposed Clean Air Act that frames clean air as a basic human right,
01:08but whether it will be enforced and whether regional cooperation can overcome economic interests
01:13remain uncertain. Which raises a larger question. At what point does hay season stop being normal
01:20and start demanding real change? Tune into The Signal across the nation's official channels
01:26reports as we dive deep into this investigation.
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