Yes! Its Raining. No, Its Not Raining.

[Donnyboy]

Wow. So pleased to see its raining. Even thou its light, this will hopefully clear the air of the debris and crap out of the sky.

May it continue.

Edited February 2, 2009 by PeaceBlondie
Edited titles to indicate silliness. PB

[ThaiPauly]

It should NOT be raining now...should it?

I washed my car just as it started...LOL..but very refreshing, dont mind if it stays like this a few days

[Donnyboy]

It should NOT be raining now...should it?

I washed my car just as it started...LOL..but very refreshing, dont mind if it stays like this a few days

hey TP,

it just finished as soon as I ran outside to bring in the washing on the line. But very usual for this time of year.

but still, it probably did some good to clear the air, so to speak.

[Bluelotus]

Impossible it NEVER rains in Chiang Mai in January , and yet there it is .

[T_Dog]

Yes, it does seem odd that it is raining! Here is a cool weather and earthquake tracking website that is more interesting during the stormy season, but no mention of the system currently causing our rain.

http://www.tmd.go.th/en/

[PeaceBlondie]

Ten months ago, these brief and light showers hardly made 1% difference in the air quality. In the rainy season, it would go unnoticed. Mee now, now!

[JuniorExPat]

A thread about the weather and more importantly, about rain . . . . what a thoughtful way to make the English feel at home.

It is refreshing though.

JxP

[Ricardo]

It should NOT be raining now...should it?

I washed my car just as it started...LOL..but very refreshing, dont mind if it stays like this a few days

This may be God's way of saying, put off cleaning the car until later, as then you won't have to ! I almost washed my car this morning !

[Niloc]

I had a chance to test my new Australian Rain Gauge, 10 mm to 8:00 AM, another 6 by 4:00 this afternoon and the garden is loving it...

[KhunDave]

Absolutely wonderful to watch the hapless git in the field across from my house miserably failing to get his pile of crap to light.

[malcy]

Wow. So pleased to see its raining. Even thou its light, this will hopefully clear the air of the debris and crap out of the sky.

May it continue.

what is the air quality like at the moment in chiang mai ? i will be there in 5 days and last year the quality was poor , hope its ok at the moment. mind you last year i was there in march so most of the place was ablaze and the rain was a bit late i believe

[gennisis]

Wow. So pleased to see its raining. Even thou its light, this will hopefully clear the air of the debris and crap out of the sky.

May it continue.

what is the air quality like at the moment in chiang mai ? i will be there in 5 days and last year the quality was poor , hope its ok at the moment. mind you last year i was there in march so most of the place was ablaze and the rain was a bit late i believe

You know I am constantl amazed when people talk about the "Bad air pollution" in Chiang Mai.

Ive been here over a year now...no bad throats or coughs. From my front door I can see the hills and the temples. I live nearly into Hang Dong.No traffic fumes...OK some days recently the hills have been covered with mist,which clears after 10 am when the sun burns it off....so all this talk about "bad air" here just doesnt hold.

Maybe in the city with much more traffic it isnt so good...but is there any city in the world that doesnt suffer from veicle exhaust fumes.?

[tigerbeer]

getting the thread back on line, yes its been a fabulous day so far. definitely a welcomed rain. hope it lasts for a couple of days at least.

[Mapguy]

Wow. So pleased to see its raining. Even thou its light, this will hopefully clear the air of the debris and crap out of the sky.

May it continue.

what is the air quality like at the moment in chiang mai ? i will be there in 5 days and last year the quality was poor , hope its ok at the moment. mind you last year i was there in march so most of the place was ablaze and the rain was a bit late i believe

You know I am constantl amazed when people talk about the "Bad air pollution" in Chiang Mai.

Ive been here over a year now...no bad throats or coughs. From my front door I can see the hills and the temples. I live nearly into Hang Dong. No traffic fumes...OK some days recently the hills have been covered with mist,which clears after 10 am when the sun burns it off....so all this talk about "bad air" here just doesnt hold.

Maybe in the city with much more traffic it isnt so good...but is there any city in the world that doesnt suffer from veicle exhaust fumes.?

Suggest you read more thoroughly and carefully some substantive posts re air pollution in Chiang Mai, which is extreme at some times. To do so, you have to access a few different threads. The topic recurs often in different forms. If you search using key word terms like "air quality" and "pollution" you'll find a lot to read.

I'm glad you feel fine after more than a year in Chiang Mai with nary a bad throat or a cough. I am not certain where you were in March 2007 when the pullition level was two to three times the "acceptable rate" on some days. The government --- even in the face of serious economic consequences --- was responsible enough to declare Chiang Mai Province --- as well as other northern provinces --- "disaster areas." Why? Check more than anecdotal evidence!

Anecdotal evidence unfortunately isn't really very useful. You didn't have a cough, but some people could barely breathe! Laughable examples of anecdotal evidence and opinion are also posted on this site. One example was a "straw poll" the results of which smelled like the smoke burning rice straw creates.

[mobs00]

The old woman near my apartment says she has not seen rain in January for all of her 65 years living here.

[Ulysses G.]

Wow. So pleased to see its raining. Even thou its light, this will hopefully clear the air of the debris and crap out of the sky.

May it continue.

what is the air quality like at the moment in chiang mai ? i will be there in 5 days and last year the quality was poor , hope its ok at the moment. mind you last year i was there in march so most of the place was ablaze and the rain was a bit late i believe

You know I am constantl amazed when people talk about the "Bad air pollution" in Chiang Mai.

Ive been here over a year now...no bad throats or coughs. From my front door I can see the hills and the temples. I live nearly into Hang Dong. No traffic fumes...OK some days recently the hills have been covered with mist,which clears after 10 am when the sun burns it off....so all this talk about "bad air" here just doesnt hold.

Maybe in the city with much more traffic it isnt so good...but is there any city in the world that doesnt suffer from veicle exhaust fumes.?

Suggest you read more thoroughly and carefully some substantive posts re air pollution in Chiang Mai, which is extreme at some times. To do so, you have to access a few different threads. The topic recurs often in different forms. If you search using key word terms like "air quality" and "pollution" you'll find a lot to read.

I'm glad you feel fine after more than a year in Chiang Mai with nary a bad throat or a cough. I am not certain where you were in March 2007 when the pullition level was two to three times the "acceptable rate" on some days. The government --- even in the face of serious economic consequences --- was responsible enough to declare Chiang Mai Province --- as well as other northern provinces --- "disaster areas." Why? Check more than anecdotal evidence!

Anecdotal evidence unfortunately isn't really very useful. You didn't have a cough, but some people could barely breathe! Laughable examples of anecdotal evidence and opinion are also posted on this site. One example was a "straw poll" the results of which smelled like the smoke burning rice straw creates.

Don't be happy. WORRY!

[Rasseru]

Don't be happy. WORRY!

What, me worry?

[Priceless]

Suggest you read more thoroughly and carefully some substantive posts re air pollution in Chiang Mai, which is extreme at some times. To do so, you have to access a few different threads. The topic recurs often in different forms. If you search using key word terms like "air quality" and "pollution" you'll find a lot to read.

I'm glad you feel fine after more than a year in Chiang Mai with nary a bad throat or a cough. I am not certain where you were in March 2007 when the pullition level was two to three times the "acceptable rate" on some days. The government --- even in the face of serious economic consequences --- was responsible enough to declare Chiang Mai Province --- as well as other northern provinces --- "disaster areas." Why? Check more than anecdotal evidence!

Anecdotal evidence unfortunately isn't really very useful. You didn't have a cough, but some people could barely breathe! Laughable examples of anecdotal evidence and opinion are also posted on this site. One example was a "straw poll" the results of which smelled like the smoke burning rice straw creates.

Oh well, here we go again... The highest level of air pollution (PM<10) recorded in Chiang Mai from 1 Jan 2002 until today was 303.5 on 14 Mar 2007. This level is 2½, not 3, times the maximum "acceptable rate". In total the level has been above twice the "acceptable rate" on five (5) occasions since 1 Jan 2002. I'm not one to deny that March of last year was very unpleasant (I am lucky enough not to suffer from any respiratory ailments) but let's avoid too much "anecdotal evidence". For anyone with a special interest, here is the pollution (PM>10) level for all of 2007:

In 2007 we experienced 30 days with PM<10 above the "acceptable rate", which was quite a contrast to 2006 when we had only five (5) such days.

On a more positive note (and on topic) I thought today's rain was a most pleasant experience, and hopefully it will have washed away some pollution and that way contributed to a better air quality in coming days/weeks

/ Priceless

[T_Dog]

Suggest you read more thoroughly and carefully some substantive posts re air pollution in Chiang Mai, which is extreme at some times. To do so, you have to access a few different threads. The topic recurs often in different forms. If you search using key word terms like "air quality" and "pollution" you'll find a lot to read.

I'm glad you feel fine after more than a year in Chiang Mai with nary a bad throat or a cough. I am not certain where you were in March 2007 when the pullition level was two to three times the "acceptable rate" on some days. The government --- even in the face of serious economic consequences --- was responsible enough to declare Chiang Mai Province --- as well as other northern provinces --- "disaster areas." Why? Check more than anecdotal evidence!

Anecdotal evidence unfortunately isn't really very useful. You didn't have a cough, but some people could barely breathe! Laughable examples of anecdotal evidence and opinion are also posted on this site. One example was a "straw poll" the results of which smelled like the smoke burning rice straw creates.

Oh well, here we go again... The highest level of air pollution (PM<10) recorded in Chiang Mai from 1 Jan 2002 until today was 303.5 on 14 Mar 2007. This level is 2½, not 3, times the maximum "acceptable rate". In total the level has been above twice the "acceptable rate" on five (5) occasions since 1 Jan 2002. I'm not one to deny that March of last year was very unpleasant (I am lucky enough not to suffer from any respiratory ailments) but let's avoid too much "anecdotal evidence". For anyone with a special interest, here is the pollution (PM>10) level for all of 2007:

In 2007 we experienced 30 days with PM<10 above the "acceptable rate", which was quite a contrast to 2006 when we had only five (5) such days.

On a more positive note (and on topic) I thought today's rain was a most pleasant experience, and hopefully it will have washed away some pollution and that way contributed to a better air quality in coming days/weeks

/ Priceless

Very factual post Priceless! Thank You! Do you have access to rain data? It would be fun to see if this was the first January for rain. My Thai friends are also scratching their heads trying to recall if it ever has rained in January.

[Priceless]

Very factual post Priceless! Thank You! Do you have access to rain data? It would be fun to see if this was the first January for rain. My Thai friends are also scratching their heads trying to recall if it ever has rained in January.

No rain data unfortunately The data I'm working with (out of personal interest only) come from the Pollution Control Department website, and they obviously are not that interested in rain. There is an amateur weather station that reports (with infrequent updates) on http://www.hs0zee.com/Information/Weather%...r%20Station.htm and his graphs actually show some precipitation in January of both 2004 and 2006.

/ Priceless

[JuniorExPat]

Very factual post Priceless! Thank You! Do you have access to rain data? It would be fun to see if this was the first January for rain. My Thai friends are also scratching their heads trying to recall if it ever has rained in January.

No rain data unfortunately The data I'm working with (out of personal interest only) come from the Pollution Control Department website, and they obviously are not that interested in rain. There is an amateur weather station that reports (with infrequent updates) on http://www.hs0zee.com/Information/Weather%...r%20Station.htm and his graphs actually show some precipitation in January of both 2004 and 2006.

/ Priceless

Thank you Priceless - I was beginning to think that I had lost the plot what with the family telling me that it hasn't rained in January for at least 400 years and me saying that I remember one if not two Januarys when in it has rained albeit British drizzle style!

JxP

[Allyt]

Suggest you read more thoroughly and carefully some substantive posts re air pollution in Chiang Mai, which is extreme at some times. To do so, you have to access a few different threads. The topic recurs often in different forms. If you search using key word terms like "air quality" and "pollution" you'll find a lot to read.

I'm glad you feel fine after more than a year in Chiang Mai with nary a bad throat or a cough. I am not certain where you were in March 2007 when the pullition level was two to three times the "acceptable rate" on some days. The government --- even in the face of serious economic consequences --- was responsible enough to declare Chiang Mai Province --- as well as other northern provinces --- "disaster areas." Why? Check more than anecdotal evidence!

Anecdotal evidence unfortunately isn't really very useful. You didn't have a cough, but some people could barely breathe! Laughable examples of anecdotal evidence and opinion are also posted on this site. One example was a "straw poll" the results of which smelled like the smoke burning rice straw creates.

Oh well, here we go again... The highest level of air pollution (PM<10) recorded in Chiang Mai from 1 Jan 2002 until today was 303.5 on 14 Mar 2007. This level is 2½, not 3, times the maximum "acceptable rate". In total the level has been above twice the "acceptable rate" on five (5) occasions since 1 Jan 2002. I'm not one to deny that March of last year was very unpleasant (I am lucky enough not to suffer from any respiratory ailments) but let's avoid too much "anecdotal evidence". For anyone with a special interest, here is the pollution (PM>10) level for all of 2007:

In 2007 we experienced 30 days with PM<10 above the "acceptable rate", which was quite a contrast to 2006 when we had only five (5) such days.

On a more positive note (and on topic) I thought today's rain was a most pleasant experience, and hopefully it will have washed away some pollution and that way contributed to a better air quality in coming days/weeks

/ Priceless

Fabulous, now I have some numbers to use when chosing the next lottery tickets!

Ally

[adjan jb]

Impossible it NEVER rains in Chiang Mai in January , and yet there it is .

This new government is incredible !

[gennisis]

Wow. So pleased to see its raining. Even thou its light, this will hopefully clear the air of the debris and crap out of the sky.

May it continue.

what is the air quality like at the moment in chiang mai ? i will be there in 5 days and last year the quality was poor , hope its ok at the moment. mind you last year i was there in march so most of the place was ablaze and the rain was a bit late i believe

You know I am constantl amazed when people talk about the "Bad air pollution" in Chiang Mai.

Ive been here over a year now...no bad throats or coughs. From my front door I can see the hills and the temples. I live nearly into Hang Dong. No traffic fumes...OK some days recently the hills have been covered with mist,which clears after 10 am when the sun burns it off....so all this talk about "bad air" here just doesnt hold.

Maybe in the city with much more traffic it isnt so good...but is there any city in the world that doesnt suffer from veicle exhaust fumes.?

Suggest you read more thoroughly and carefully some substantive posts re air pollution in Chiang Mai, which is extreme at some times. To do so, you have to access a few different threads. The topic recurs often in different forms. If you search using key word terms like "air quality" and "pollution" you'll find a lot to read.

I'm glad you feel fine after more than a year in Chiang Mai with nary a bad throat or a cough. I am not certain where you were in March 2007 when the pullition level was two to three times the "acceptable rate" on some days. The government --- even in the face of serious economic consequences --- was responsible enough to declare Chiang Mai Province --- as well as other northern provinces --- "disaster areas." Why? Check more than anecdotal evidence!

Anecdotal evidence unfortunately isn't really very useful. You didn't have a cough, but some people could barely breathe! Laughable examples of anecdotal evidence and opinion are also posted on this site. One example was a "straw poll" the results of which smelled like the smoke burning rice straw creates.

Well I am still surprised. I can only comment on MY experiences and they are as I have said..."I have not experienced any problems or indeed noticed any "bad air pollution" at my location in Hang Dong. I dont dispute that it does appear that air pollution is a problem to some people in certain locations,but I simply wanted to point out to prospective residents and visitors that the problem is not as extreme as some people say it is and that they should not be scared off by the adverse comments often displayed.

For your info In March 2007 I was here breathing the Chiang Mai air. Maybe the airflow patterns arround Chiang Mai divert away from the south of the city.

[Ulysses G.]

For your info In March 2007 I was here breathing the Chiang Mai air. Maybe the airflow patterns arround Chiang Mai divert away from the south of the city.

...And the Thapae Gate "bubble".

[adjan jb]

For your info In March 2007 I was here breathing the Chiang Mai air. Maybe the airflow patterns arround Chiang Mai divert away from the south of the city.

...And the Thapae Gate "bubble".

... And the Saraphi "Green Zone"

[Donnyboy]

For your info In March 2007 I was here breathing the Chiang Mai air. Maybe the airflow patterns arround Chiang Mai divert away from the south of the city.

...And the Thapae Gate "bubble".

... And the Saraphi "Green Zone"

...not to forget the Loy Khroy Belt, should you stay too long thou, it may damage your eyes, as you wont believe what you will be seeing!

[adjan jb]

...not to forget the Loy Khroy Belt, should you stay too long thou, it may damage your eyes,

Right. It's safer to stay under the belt.

[Mapguy]

To get serious once again, it has been a beautiful day in Chiang Mai today, Tuesday. This morning, you could see Doi Suthep clearly from the moat and make out the colors of the mountainside, which is often quite difficult to do. Later in the day, the haze has set in, attributable probably to dampness on the slopes after a very unusual rain yesterday.

It VERY rarely rains in January. Or in February. Officially, for Chiang Mai, it rained 2.1mm. Further north there was a lot more. About an hour south there was more as well. When it does rain, even just a little bit, the change can be dramatic. After a couple of days of rather nasty air apparently caused by burning rice straw in the area and an unfavorable weather pattern, it began to clear up. Everyone is enjoying it! Check it out:

http://www.pcd.go.th/AirQuality/Regional/G...?task=graphsite

The last time I played golf last week, there was smoke all over the course. Today, it was breezy and cool with blue skies.

Wouldn't it be lovely if it could be like that every day?! It could, you know. And with proper education and enforcement, it will be.

[ovenman]

As cloudy as it was around sunset today and for as much as it has rained this evening, if I didn't know any better I would guess that it is 31 July rather than 31 January...