Massive wildfires raging across northern Thailand have created a severe smog crisis as air quality readings in Chiang Mai province exceeded hazardous levels for more than two consecutive weeks, officials warned Monday. Nearly 1,000 hotspots have been detected across the region by satellite monitoring while unseasonably high temperatures and drought conditions fuel the uncontrolled blazes, which mostly started because of agricultural burning. “Choking smog clouds from the fires have enveloped multiple provinces, with Chiang Mai’s haze spreading to Lampang, Lamphun and beyond. The wildfires are forecast to continue raging for over 10 more days, exacerbating the region’s hazardous air pollution levels,” environmental scholar Jain Charnnarong told BenarNews.