Workers in Kamphaeng Phet province, central Thailand, were this morning seen using huge barrels to spray water into the air to battle smog pollution that has hit the country. The debilitating blanket of toxic particles - eight times higher than the safe limit - has engulfed the capital Bangkok and surrounding areas prompting health warmings from officials. Officials have vowed to tackle the pollution by firing water into the air to generate 'artificial rain' which the believe will disperse the smog cloud. Workers were also seen spraying water on the ground to try and soak up the exhaust fumes from cars and prevent them from adding to the smog cloud. Experts blame a mixture of car fumes, construction projects and open-air burning, including the tens of thousands of street food sellers that barbecue meat outside. The PM2.5 air-quality index (AQI) in parts of Bangkok reached a shocking 394 microgrammes per cubic - far past the acceptable limit of 50. The PM2.5 dust particles are extremely small and they are fine enough to be absorbed in the human bloodstream through the lungs. This will cause chronic diseases such as asthma, cancer, heart disease and stroke in the long term if there is exposure to air pollution,
