BANGKOK: Air pollution in the Thai capital forced more than 350 schools to close on Friday, city authorities said, the highest number in five years.

Bangkok officials also announced free public transport for a week in a bid to reduce traffic in a city notorious for noxious exhaust fumes. Seasonal air pollution has long afflicted Thailand, like many countries in the region, but this week`s hazy conditions have closed the most schools since 2020.

`It`s hard to breathe... I really feel the burn in my throat,` drinks seller Benjawan Suknae, 61, said. `I think (school closures) could help to a certain point.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said it had closed 352 schools across 31 districts due to air pollution. More than 250 schools in Bangkok were closed on Thursday, and officials urged people to work from home and restricted heavy vehicles in the city.

Air pollution hits Thailand seasonally as colder, stagnant winter air combines with smoke from crop stubble burning and car fumes. The level of PM2.5 pollutants cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs hit 108 micrograms per cubic metre by Friday.-AFP