Bangkok locals use bras and pants to cover their face from deadly smog

Bangkok locals in Thailand have taken to wearing bras and pants to cover their face as the stricken country runs out of face masks.

The capital Bangkok has been carpeted in a thick blanket of killer smog since Sunday – sparking health warnings and desperate attempts to make it rain.

But the toxic cloud, a mixture of fine particles that is eight times higher than safe levels, is expected to continue for at least another month amidst humid, stagnant weather.

Sales of the masks that block out the particles have soared and most shops are out of stock.

The chaotic situation has caused people to take to social media with pictures of their own improvised solutions to the toxic smog.

Bras have become a popular alternative and one man was seen with his wife’s red bra strapped across his face while he rides a motorcycle.

Another woman placed a pair of green pants across her head to try and prevent the fumes from entering her lungs.

The responses came as Thai officials attempted to fight the smog by spraying water into the air.

It is believed that the ‘artificial rain’ will help to disperse the pollutants lingering in the sky.

But the bizarre method of tackling the pollution drew bemused responses from locals, who have been rushing to stock up on face masks to protect them from the smog.

While health agencies have also warned that the government is not taking the threat to health seriously.

Supat Wangwongwatana, former head of the country’s Pollution Control Department, said:

The measures implemented last year were the same as this year, and still the smog returned to about the same level.

They weren’t a solution, just temporary relief of the situation’s severity.

Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, a medical lecturer at Chiang Mai University, said that the root cause of the pollution should be tackled.

He said:

The authorities still do not realise the real dangers of air pollution, as they are very unlike imminent threats to people such as disasters and diseases, which can kill people instantly.