From Chiang Mai Mail Vol. VII No. 9

Chiang Mai to host ASEAN meeting on long-term smoke eradication

5 country working committee to be established

Staff Reporter

During a recent meeting between the 5 Lower Mekong Delta countries who are party to ASEAN’s convention on smoke pollution, an agreement was reached regarding the formation of a group working committee which will cooperate between countries on this issue and its possible solutions. The 5 countries concerned are Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. According to Suthak Wangwongwattana, the Director General of Thailand’s Department of Pollution Control, all 5 countries involved will cooperate with each other on smoke pollution issues, and will submit an analysis of their individual problems and proposed methods of eradication for discussion at a meeting to be held later this year in Chiang Mai. Suthak stated that the total control of pollution by smoke, whether it is caused by agricultural activities or by forest fires, is of the greatest importance and is relevant to all the five Mekong River Delta countries.

It's several days later, now. March 19th. There was a wonderful lasting shower yesterday afternoon. I expected it to clear the air. You could barely make out Doi Suthep from the west side of town before the rain. This morning, odd thing, it is still quite hazy, and apparently it isn't the humidity. Depressing.

AQI_18_19MAR08.pdf

Looks like rain is on the horizon

a few drops but nothing of value at the moment

its blowing wildly at the moment so it could be starting to stir

Dark, darker, heavy wind, then three big drops. AND nice and cool!!!!!! Yeeehhhhhhh!

It is mildly sprinkling. Will it do more?

These March showers can be quite spotty, I think. At 1 p.m. I thought the swimming pool would get it, but we were dry and I rode home. Now at sunset it is trying to sprinkle. I hope it clears the air.

just alot of wind/ very slight rain up here by Meechock...I was hoping..

just alot of wind/ very slight rain up here by Meechock...I was hoping..

There was a lightning storm up north, and the edge of heavy winds from it hit Meechoke

It is raining VERY nicely at the moment!

It is raining VERY nicely at the moment!

Out here close to the Night Safari as well, after a very brief and light shower around 6 o'clock.

/ Priceless

nice and steady in town now, nothing huge but its so refreshing

WOW! It was absolutely GORGEOUS this morning!!

The Chiang Mai city area enjoyed a very nice rain last night and this morning. Let us pray for more good showers as the dry season goes on! This year's advance forecasts actually look somewhat promising for occasional rain. ["Occasional" in April means some rain about once a week. Check the climographs on Chiang Mai to see the annual pattern over time. This is, after all, the dry season. Even after rain today, my humidistat reads 49%, and it is not broken!

For weeks we have forgotten what a blue sky looks like! For weeks, we have not been able to tell what color the trees are on Doi Suthep! In the afternoon, the usual pollution haze started to set in, but it was still remarkably clear compared to what we usually suffer. At sunset, you could see the reflection of the setting sun (Never mind that it was pink (not a great color in sunsets re pollution) on the clouds above the mountain. Even just after sunset, after the normal pollution haze started to set in, you could still see the lights twinkling at the wat near the top of the mountain. Tonight, late, I can still see a couple of stars. Which one is the really bright one in the SW; a star or a planet? It is quite bright.

Perhaps we can not enjoy a morning as lovely as the one was this morning every morning, but we can certainly enjoy a lot more like it without breaking into rain dances in the dry season!! It will take work, but it is doable.

WOW! It was absolutely GORGEOUS this morning!!

And is even more so this morning. We're lucky.

WOW! It was absolutely GORGEOUS this morning!!

And is even more so this morning. We're lucky.

yes its been a beautiful day

Drove towards Hang Dong this afternoon and was very pleasant supprised to see clearly the mountains again. Doi Suthep and the surrounding mountains are just breathtaking beautiful, once you can see them that is.

Came back home tonight and can see the stars again.

Now it's time to admire my bed. Yeeeehhhhhhh!

WOW! It was absolutely GORGEOUS this morning!!

The Chiang Mai city area enjoyed a very nice rain last night and this morning. Let us pray for more good showers as the dry season goes on! This year's advance forecasts actually look somewhat promising for occasional rain. ["Occasional" in April means some rain about once a week. Check the climographs on Chiang Mai to see the annual pattern over time. This is, after all, the dry season. Even after rain today, my humidistat reads 49%, and it is not broken!

For weeks we have forgotten what a blue sky looks like! For weeks, we have not been able to tell what color the trees are on Doi Suthep! In the afternoon, the usual pollution haze started to set in, but it was still remarkably clear compared to what we usually suffer. At sunset, you could see the reflection of the setting sun (Never mind that it was pink (not a great color in sunsets re pollution) on the clouds above the mountain. Even just after sunset, after the normal pollution haze started to set in, you could still see the lights twinkling at the wat near the top of the mountain. Tonight, late, I can still see a couple of stars. Which one is the really bright one in the SW; a star or a planet? It is quite bright.

Perhaps we can not enjoy a morning as lovely as the one was this morning every morning, but we can certainly enjoy a lot more like it without breaking into rain dances in the dry season!! It will take work, but it is doable.

Sunsets! I'm so pleased you mentioned them. Gives me a chance to divert the whole thread for a moment, if not hi-jack it entirely.

Three years ago, almost exactly, I moved out of the city to a point due east of the highest tip of Doi Suthep. At that time, the sunset point was slightly north of that tip. Then, over a period of 2+ years, the sun setting point moved way south, well down over the lower slopes, Hang Dong-way.

Now, over the last 4-5 months only, it has 'quickly' swung back to setting at a point well north of the highest tip.

Sunrise (glad you asked!) has fluctuated in opposite ways and/but to a much lesser degree. To the naked eye, that is.

I asked a well known amateur astronomer friend in the US, who lived here for many years, about this recently. His highly technical answer was "the earth wobbles on its axis!" Can this be true? I think we should be told!!??

Three years ago, almost exactly, I moved out of the city to a point due east of the highest tip of Doi Suthep. At that time, the sunset point was slightly north of that tip. Then, over a period of 2+ years, the sun setting point moved way south, well down over the lower slopes, Hang Dong-way.

Now, over the last 4-5 months only, it has 'quickly' swung back to setting at a point well north of the highest tip.

Sunrise (glad you asked!) has fluctuated in opposite ways and/but to a much lesser degree. To the naked eye, that is.

I asked a well known amateur astronomer friend in the US, who lived here for many years, about this recently. His highly technical answer was "the earth wobbles on its axis!" Can this be true? I think we should be told!!??

No, it is not true that the earth "wobbles" on its axis. That is a widely circulated urban myth. The most likely explanation for what you are experiencing is that the building you live in was built on soft soil and is settling into it unevenly, causing the apparent location of the sunrise and sunset (and also, of course, that of the moon's rising and setting) to shift over time. It is probably not serious. Alternatively, if you are living in a traditional Thai house on stilts, you may have a bigger problem. It could be that termites have infested and weakened your stilts, causing the house on top to sway slowly over time, resulting in the same apparent shifting of the location of the sun and moon on their rise and set.

Three years ago, almost exactly, I moved out of the city to a point due east of the highest tip of Doi Suthep. At that time, the sunset point was slightly north of that tip. Then, over a period of 2+ years, the sun setting point moved way south, well down over the lower slopes, Hang Dong-way.

Now, over the last 4-5 months only, it has 'quickly' swung back to setting at a point well north of the highest tip.

Sunrise (glad you asked!) has fluctuated in opposite ways and/but to a much lesser degree. To the naked eye, that is.

I asked a well known amateur astronomer friend in the US, who lived here for many years, about this recently. His highly technical answer was "the earth wobbles on its axis!" Can this be true? I think we should be told!!??

No, it is not true that the earth "wobbles" on its axis. That is a widely circulated urban myth. The most likely explanation for what you are experiencing is that the building you live in was built on soft soil and is settling into it unevenly, causing the apparent location of the sunrise and sunset (and also, of course, that of the moon's rising and setting) to shift over time. It is probably not serious. Alternatively, if you are living in a traditional Thai house on stilts, you may have a bigger problem. It could be that termites have infested and weakened your stilts, causing the house on top to sway slowly over time, resulting in the same apparent shifting of the location of the sun and moon on their rise and set.

Actually, the earth does wobble on its axis, but I wouldn't get upset about it:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/...40520065656.htm

Looks like the OP was writing about the normal change seqasonally in the relationship between the earth and the sun:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice

Three years ago, almost exactly, I moved out of the city to a point due east of the highest tip of Doi Suthep. At that time, the sunset point was slightly north of that tip. Then, over a period of 2+ years, the sun setting point moved way south, well down over the lower slopes, Hang Dong-way.

Now, over the last 4-5 months only, it has 'quickly' swung back to setting at a point well north of the highest tip.

Sunrise (glad you asked!) has fluctuated in opposite ways and/but to a much lesser degree. To the naked eye, that is.

I asked a well known amateur astronomer friend in the US, who lived here for many years, about this recently. His highly technical answer was "the earth wobbles on its axis!" Can this be true? I think we should be told!!??

No, it is not true that the earth "wobbles" on its axis. That is a widely circulated urban myth. The most likely explanation for what you are experiencing is that the building you live in was built on soft soil and is settling into it unevenly, causing the apparent location of the sunrise and sunset (and also, of course, that of the moon's rising and setting) to shift over time. It is probably not serious. Alternatively, if you are living in a traditional Thai house on stilts, you may have a bigger problem. It could be that termites have infested and weakened your stilts, causing the house on top to sway slowly over time, resulting in the same apparent shifting of the location of the sun and moon on their rise and set.

Flatout, I think your observations have nothing to do with the structure you live in obviously since you can make the same observations when you are not in the structure. The second website in the post above probably explains it. It certainly explains the last 3+ months of the sunset moving north. Not sure about your memory over 2 years because it is an annual cycle of the sunset moving North until about June 20 then heading back South until about Dec 20 for us North of the equator, by my fading memory.

No, it is not true that the earth "wobbles" on its axis. That is a widely circulated urban myth. The most likely explanation for what you are experiencing is that the building you live in was built on soft soil and is settling into it unevenly, causing the apparent location of the sunrise and sunset (and also, of course, that of the moon's rising and setting) to shift over time. It is probably not serious. Alternatively, if you are living in a traditional Thai house on stilts, you may have a bigger problem. It could be that termites have infested and weakened your stilts, causing the house on top to sway slowly over time, resulting in the same apparent shifting of the location of the sun and moon on their rise and set.

/ Priceless

Thank you, Priceless, for understanding.

Thank you, Priceless, for understanding.

You know where I come from the sun settles in the northwest during the summer and in the southwest during the winter

/ Priceless

Great, right it will help CLEAR the Air for sure, just hope not enough to cause FLOODING

Thank you, Priceless, for understanding.

You know where I come from the sun settles in the northwest during the summer and in the southwest during the winter

Interesting. I had thought that where you come from the sun neither rose nor set during the summer and, albeit for a completely different reason, of course, neither rose nor set during the winter either.

Thank you, Priceless, for understanding.

You know where I come from the sun settles in the northwest during the summer and in the southwest during the winter

Interesting. I had thought that where you come from the sun neither rose nor set during the summer and, albeit for a completely different reason, of course, neither rose nor set during the winter either.

Well, you're almost right

Perfect weather & views on the Samoeng Loop today.

You can all stop complaining now.

Perfect weather & views on the Samoeng Loop today.

You can all stop complaining now.

Oh really

Perfect weather & views on the Samoeng Loop today.

You can all stop complaining now.

All it takes is a little rain to wash away the murk

Perfect weather & views on the Samoeng Loop today.

You can all stop complaining now.

There is a difference between complaining and trying to do something ... I like the clean air as well!!

Perfect weather & views on the Samoeng Loop today.

You can all stop complaining now.

the motosi ruined an otherwise perfect photo!!