Following a separate test mission earlier in the week, 50 drones spraying molasses have taken to the skies to tackle the Bangkok’s toxic air, the Thai News Agency has reported.

The city has been enveloped with a haze over the past few weeks, with levels of PM2.5 reaching 185 microgranmes per cubic meter.

Authorities contacted a drone club in Bangkok to source the drones, which can each carry 10 litres of water and molasses. They began flying yesterday at a radius of 4km and finished today (February 1).

According to government scientists, molasses will help to catch dust in the air, which will then fall on the ground as a black water droplet.

Officials said: ‘Even though [the drones] may not help reduce the problem 100%, it is still better than doing nothing.’

© Patipat Janthong, the Bangkok Post

Earlier in the week 12 drones were been deployed on a test mission to spray water and a ‘non-hazardous chemical spray’ 25 metres above a park for periods of 30-40 minutes.

According to Preecha Pradapmuk, director of the Defence Technology Institute (DTI), the results show levels of PM2.5 was reduced by 10 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m³) on average.

Air pollution is a growing crisis in the Thai capital, with a rising level of air pollutants leading to stores running out of stocks of face masks to protect residents from fumes.