OPINION | by Michael Bridge

Last night for at least three hours a massive storm hit most of Pattaya with thunder and lightning along with torrential rain.

Strong winds played havoc with trees and debris left this morning and severe flooding was reported in numerous places too.

In my case the rain aided by the strong winds managed to flood my condo on the 6th floor, as the water came through the front door.

Apparently, more storms are predicted, and the week ahead is forecasted to bring rain on most days.

Climate Change

So, with the weather patterns changing around the world, whereas California and Australia suffer from bush fires, here in Thailand we will have to get used to a few tropical downpours.

Thailand is exceptionally vulnerable to small changes in climate: slightly warmer surface temperatures will destroy the rice crops that feed the population and bolster the economy, and a few centimeters of sea level rise will submerge the capital city and devastate coastal tourism.

 

Thailand's summer will continue to be hotter than the same period last year, according to the Meteorological Department. 

 

“It will be about one or two degrees Celsius hotter,” the department's director-general Phuwieng Prakhammintara said on Friday.

 

Unlike the north, however, the southern region of Thailand does not receive the cool monsoon breezes during the dry season, resulting in a climate that generally always feels hot and humid.

 

The past few days have seen very high temperatures, so it is not surprising that we are experiencing thunder and lightning and rain.

Thailand has seen a marked increase in temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns over the past thirty years. 

Does Thailand ever get cold?

Apparently, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Bangkok was 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), and that was back in 1955. 

 

Cool-season temperatures are generally around 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius), so it's no surprise that it's such a favorite time to visit.

 

Of course, up in Northern Thailand according to Thailand's national weather archives, it did snow, once! 

 

The only ever official snow recorded in Thailand was in Chiang Rai on 7th January 1955.

 

 

According to the notice on this picture, the snow (sort of) came after rainfall at 6pm.

 

Still with this crazy climate change maybe they will start to open a ski resort in Chiang Rai soon!!!!

 

 

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He was getting better for a while..........................

 

Tomorrow's article- , 'Why is it so hot in Thailand? '

The rainy season arrived in Chiang Rai six weeks ago.

Breaking news, it rains in the tropics.

22 minutes ago, sungod said:

He was getting better for a while..........................

 

Tomorrow's article- , 'Why is it so hot in Thailand? '

Was he? I didn't notice...

Very little rain in North here in Northern Sakon Nakhon.

 

Hopefully it doesn't come all at once and cause flooding.

 

Lots of rain last month and then nothing but heat and humidity! 

Floods in one place in Thailand are not a harbinger for seasonal change. Storms can be localized in the tropics.

Where I am, near the northern border, the soil is dust and plants are withering, I spend a lot of time hand watering, wondering when the hell the wet will arrive. Nothing seems to be on the horizon.

Short answer, Yes!

This month very dry in Chiang Mai, the lack of rain seems to coincide with the arrival of the "rainy season".

Simply depends where you are residing.

23 minutes ago, Thailand said:

This month very dry in Chiang Mai, the lack of rain seems to coincide with the arrival of the "rainy season".

You seem to forget the considerable flooding in CM a month ago. June has been somewhat dryer than expected and yet the rainfall in May was twice the annual average. In fact, it started raining in March this year.  

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand is exceptionally vulnerable to small changes in climate

In part because they keep thinking concreting over flood plains and runoff routes makes sense.

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

The rainy season arrived in Chiang Rai six weeks ago.

Started here back in February, in fact the dry season was not really dry, think about 3 weeks max between rain.

When I first came here at least 4 months without rain every year, quite noticeable when you have no mains water. 

There's me thinking it was already the rain season ???? 

 

Could be Mother Nature was hittin' that bong a wee bit too much.  Got a few heavy downpours a bit pre-rainy season.  Then a delayed start of (out of stock), though very welcomed now, as it's picked up this week.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Apparently, more storms are predicted, and the week ahead is forecasted to bring rain on most days.

The last 3 evenings we've had thunder showers and strong winds.. one hour west of Bangkok

1+ hr south of Hua Hin, and thankfully we're back to 'normal'.  Had a few brutal sunny days a week or so ago.  Liking the change, overcast and tad less humidity with the afternoon & nightly spritzes.

Be careful not to compare weather with climate...

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Could be Mother Nature was hittin' that bong a wee bit too much.  Got a few heavy downpours a bit pre-rainy season.  Then a delayed start of (out of stock), though very welcomed now, as it's picked up this week.

????  ????  ????  ????   A stoned Mother Nature, ????     I can see her as Janis Joplin with the wild hair and large sunglasses, in a Papasan Chair hitting a bong, and pointing to spots on the world map,  Rain, Fire, Flood, Winds, Sunshine........and laughing all the time.............that would be a sight.     Peace

In my home province of Narathiwat, in the far south, rainy season never went away in the first place. It's been a rainy year through and through, with hardly a day without rain.

Edited June 23, 20224 yr by MarcelV

Earlier in the year ,when it was not supposed to rain,it

was peeing down, really hard at least once a week , 

saved me a lot of work putting pump in river to water

the garden , only had to do it once.the early rains kept

the air clear up North too.

 

Now it's the Rainy season , not much rain at all ,sunny

shower yesterday......

regards worgeordie

1 hour ago, TunnelRat69 said:

????  ????  ????  ????   A stoned Mother Nature, ????     I can see her as Janis Joplin with the wild hair and large sunglasses, in a Papasan Chair hitting a bong, and pointing to spots on the world map,  Rain, Fire, Flood, Winds, Sunshine........and laughing all the time.............that would be a sight.     Peace

Janis would be putting GOD out of a job ... if one was to believe them bible thumpers.

 

I think we've been expanding our mind too much. ????

...  harvest time is when ???

Could do with a few drops here in Chiang Mai !

Like many other posters reflected it started early here in the Far East, Ubon with almost daily arvo storms thru April and May when it’s normally blistering hot.

has settled into more normal pattern now still pretty warm ~33 daily and humid with solid storms every few days and off in the distance when it doesnt

5 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Where I am, near the northern border, the soil is dust and plants are withering, I spend a lot of time hand watering, wondering when the hell the wet will arrive. Nothing seems to be on the horizon.

I should have known that as soon as I write something like this..........

 

A big black cloud has come over the hill and started dumping on us, it's pissing down. The dust has changed consistency and I wont have to water the plants for some time.

Whether or not it's the arrival of the wet remains to be seen.

How does a 6th floor apartment get flooded? Under the door was stated but flooded seems a bit much.

Coldest I have known it in Thailand was 16C in 2013 in Bangkok

5 hours ago, sandyf said:

Started here back in February, in fact the dry season was not really dry, think about 3 weeks max between rain.

When I first came here at least 4 months without rain every year, quite noticeable when you have no mains water. 

Spot on. When I arrived in Thailand in the eighties, Bangkok had virtually no rain from the end of October till April. That guarantee of no/very little rain has shrunk to just a month and a half. (middle of December to end of January). 

10 hours ago, sungod said:

He was getting better for a while..........................

 

Tomorrow's article- , 'Why is it so hot in Thailand? '

Indeed.

Rather unfortunate and embarrassing that the author knows little of the place - relying on rhetoric and ever-loving cliches to further such "journalistic" practice.

 

Ho-hum. 

What makes all this stuff green?  

 

I think maybe the smoke mixes with the pesticides and ...... GREEN!!!!

 

Rainy season is soooooooooooooooo 2008.   Now it's climate season!!!!  

 

Tomorrow, hot!!!!   

I've been just NNE of Bangkok for the last 7 years. For some reason when it rains it often misses us. Yesterday under 1/2 km from our home soi at 7-Eleven I was sat on motorbike it tee-shirt and shorts waiting for beloved who was buying bags of ice - our new freezer has no automatic icemaker just cube trays never enough. From nowhere a few drops of rain, and then a sudden howling gale, horizontal water and I was soaked and cold in seconds. We set off home and 100 yards down the road rain eased although behind us was still smashing down. At 200 yards our soi was dry. This happens a lot.

 

Nevertheless, almost every day since October last year the weather.com forecast has given high percentages for rain and thunder storms and to be fair we get them at least every other day late afternoon evening or overnight so it seems the rainy season never left us.