About 200,000 people in Thailand were hospitalized this week with health problems linked to air pollution, health authorities said, as alert levels continued to be exceeded in Bangkok today.

More than 1.3 million people have fallen ill in the kingdom since the beginning of the year due to air pollution, the Ministry of Public Health said yesterday, Wednesday evening.

The capital Bangkokwith approx 11 million inhabitants which is also an attraction for tourists from all over the world, has been living since the beginning of the week in a dense fog, which has led the population to wear masks outdoors.

The toxic fogcovering the horizon, is associated with emissions from cars and industries, as well as smoke from seasonal agricultural burning, which occurs at this time of year.

Ministry doctor of Public Health asked Bangkok residents to wear an N95 mask when going out.

Children, pregnant women and people with respiratory or heart problems should also stay at home, Khryangrai Namthaisong added.

Bangkok’s 50 districts yesterday, Wednesday, had fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) rates — which are particularly dangerously as they penetrate deep into the lungs–well above alert levels.

At noon today, in the central region of Pathumuan, a local air pollution monitoring service recorded 70 micrograms per cubic meter in the last 24 hours. This number greatly exceeds the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) for 15.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) authorities have set up car emissions checkpoints, said spokesman Ekvarunyu Amrapala.

Public daycare centers have “dust-free rooms” that have air purifiers to protect the little ones, he added.

In a previous episode of peak air pollution in late January, the BMA asked residents to work from home, a measure that is “always on the table”, according to its spokesman.

The new governor of Bangkok, Sanchar Sitipound, was elected in May on a promise to make everyday life more enjoyable in a heavily polluted and congested metropolis.