Thai authorities have made travel by public transport in Bangkok free for a week, the latest tactic to try to tackle soaring levels of air pollution that have already seen hundreds of schools closed and employees working from home.

BANGKOK – The Thai government on Jan 26 called on Chinese descendants to use digital paper offerings online instead of burning real ones as part of their Chinese New Year traditions, to help reduce the already severe air pollution.

Flying through Bangkok's cloudless blue skies, a small aircraft sprays a white mist over a thick haze of pea soup smog below.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered free public transport in Bangkok for one week, starting on Feb. 25, in a move to deal with the alarming air pollution in the capital city.

Thailand's PM2.5 pollution crisis has intensified into a political issue as local elections approach on February 1. Opposition leader Natthapong Ruangpanyawut criticized Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shi

In a bid to tackle rising air pollution, Thailand has launched a week-long free public transport campaign in its capital city, Bangkok. The measure, which started on Saturday, is aimed at reducing the use of private vehicles—a major contributor to the city's worsening air quality.

It's a method that's largely unproven, but Thailand's government is willing to try anything after air pollution in the capital reached eight times the daily maximum average recommended by the WHO.

The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand is urging people across the country to work from home after air pollution levels exceeded safe levels in almost every province on Tuesday, Jan. 21.