The popular tourist destination recorded an Air Quality Index of 168 which is considered ‘unhealthy’ while the level of PM2.5 pollutants – cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the blood

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.

Air pollution in the Thai capital forced the closure of more than 350 schools on Friday, city authorities said, as Bangkok was ranked the world's seventh-most polluted major city by air quality monitor IQAir.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration urged people to work from home for the rest of the week if they can, with air pollution forecast to worsen after already forcing the temporary closure of more than a dozen schools.

Footage shows the deadly air pollution that was choking Bangkok amid a rise in agricultural burning across Southeast Asia. Thick haze engulfed Thailand's capital, sending levels of harmful cancer-causing PM2.