Smoke Eases As Choking Thai North Awaits Rain

[p1p]

Smoke eases as choking Thai north awaits rain

Sign-on San Diego

REUTERS 4:12 a.m. March 16, 2007

BANGKOK – The smoke haze choking northern Thailand thinned on Friday as efforts to stop dry season stubble burning, forest fires and wood-fired cooking started to yield results, an environment official said.

But hopes that rain arrive on Friday to wash away the smog had to be put on hold for a few more days.

'We see a clearer sky today,' Apiwat Kunarak, director of the northern region's Environment Management Office, told Reuters by telephone from Chiang Mai, the tourism hub of the north.

'But our forecast of rain during March 16 to 18 has to be pushed back to March 18 to 20,' Apiwat said.

The region has not seen rain since November in what has been an unusually long and dry cool season in Thailand.

Smoke from burning fields and forests in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar had poured into valleys in the hilly region as a cold front prevented it from escaping into the atmosphere.

But Apiwat said the latest satellite pictures showed efforts by fire fighters to put out forest fires and burning stubble had worked, improving the air quality in Chiang Mai.

The Air Quality Index had dropped to 114, a level considered to mildly affect the health of children and the elderly, from 247, a level at which the smoke affects everyone's health heavily, Apiwat said.

Chiang Mai officials sent fire trucks to hose down streets and spray into the air in hopes of bringing rain and urged its residents to do the same.

They hoped the collective effort would increase humidity as the seasonal scourge reached its densest in 15 years.

After a week of failure to provoke a deluge from the sky, rainmaking teams added water to their chemical mix of fertiliser and salt sprayed from planes to make rain in hopes that would be more effective, officials said.

[PeaceBlondie]

My printout from weather.com says the average monthly March rainfall for CMai is about 1.52 cm. But this being a dry year, they're probably right that it hasn't rained since the cold November rain that didn't last forever.

Is Thailand the hub of rainmaking? Do they actually make hubs that rain?

[Goshawk]

..cold November rain that didn't last forever.

All we need is just a little patience...

[Robroy]

"The Air Quality Index had dropped to 114, a level considered to mildly affect the health of children and the elderly, from 247, a level at which the smoke affects everyone's health heavily, Apiwat said."

According to the Department's own figures Chiang Mai actually went from 152 to 171 for the worst pollutants (<PM10s) today.

Don't know where this 114 comes from. There hasn't been a 114 day in recent times. Indeed CM just clocked up its 15th straight day with the lethal <PM10s over the safe maximum level.

"Chiang Mai officials sent fire trucks to hose down streets and spray into the air in hopes of bringing rain and urged its residents to do the same."

"After a week of failure to provoke a deluge from the sky, rainmaking teams added water to their chemical mix of fertiliser and salt sprayed from planes to make rain in hopes that would be more effective, officials said."

I don't know anything about rainmaking, but this sounds closer to witchcraft than science.

[realthaideal]

"..cold November rain that didn't last forever.

All we need is just a little patience..."

Good one. Why didn't anyone else catch that ? I just copied those albums off a friend last month. Classics. Axl is a fool in tights, but the music rocks.

[WaiWai]

I'm an Aussie who simply could not help crying on a bus in Guangzhou, China, while my colleagues did karaoke. The "mist" and the dirt and rubbish everywhere ... ferry trip revealed the sea from HK to mainlaind China is awash with floating rubbish of any conceivable kind .

Never seen anything like this, though.

Edited March 17, 2007 by WaiWai

[Rinrada]

We have been driving back and forward all week to and from mae-on and the bu::ers are still at it with their slash and B.

Last night we had to take another route back onto the San K p highway due to the flames almost crossing one of our access roads so will head out again today and have another looksee.

Generally things seem to be getting better but a bit of rain would be more than welcome.

[PeaceBlondie]

"..cold November rain that didn't last forever.

All we need is just a little patience..."

Good one. Why didn't anyone else catch that ? I just copied those albums off a friend last month. Classics. Axl is a fool in tights, but the music rocks.

If it rained a lot, we could say, "Welcome to the Jungle." But what we have here in northern Thailand, is a failure to communicate. At least we're being civil and not fighting over the smoke (what's so civil about war, anyway?). And if it doesn't rain, where do we go from here?

[KhunMarco]

"..cold November rain that didn't last forever.

All we need is just a little patience..."

Good one. Why didn't anyone else catch that ? I just copied those albums off a friend last month. Classics. Axl is a fool in tights, but the music rocks.

If it rained a lot, we could say, "Welcome to the Jungle." But what we have here in northern Thailand, is a failure to communicate. At least we're being civil and not fighting over the smoke (what's so civil about war, anyway?). And if it doesn't rain, where do we go from here?

Ah, and to think once CM was paradise city, but the appetite for destruction is unstoppable, let's all catch the night train and foggetabout it...

[KhunDennis]

I have seen no efforts to stop burning around Lampang, still as smokey as ever.

[tijnebijn]

Here still no rain as well....so dry dry dry,although it seems the air is getting a bit more open.But driving to home from CMcity last night,still saw a tremendous fireline up in the mountains.So I am not so sure people who I think start the burning somewhere, take the noburning more warnings that serious,difficult anyway to stop anybody in far far away land.But is it true that when splashing a lot of water can make rain happen?

Seems strange,but isn't it every year also when Songkran is in full practise that it also seems to rain coming down as well?I have noticed this phenomenan every year..... .......

Maybe we should all celebrate Songkran tomorrow,we all can smile more and the rain will fall ????

[Rinrada]

Had a look at the other side of our wee mountain and gotta admit someone has done us a favour.

Would be impossible to clear all that area in a weeks holiday.

New shoots appearing all over the place and because we can now see most of wot we own its seems that we have 2 lucky (gods) trees worth about 10000 bt each...wotever they are........Little e bit of rain will really clean things up........