Weather In Cm?

[kalliorocks]

hi everyone, i might be moving to CM in April with my gf for work but i also have other possible job offers in a few other cities like taipei and KL. i would prefer CM because of it's buddhist culture, laidback lifestyle and the low cost of living but i have a heard a few things about the weather which perhaps some of you can tell me more about. the air quality is important to me cos of allergies and the temp is important to my gf cos of certain skin conditions.

firstly, how hot does it get in april and may? i've read and heard that it regularly goes up to 40C which sounds prohibitively hot to me. is that true? and is that a dry kind of heat or is it very humid as well?

2ndly, how cold does it get in dec/jan? again i've read and heard stories of it dropping to 12C or even 10 at night. is that true? how often does that happen? i assume most homes do not have built-in heating, so how does everyone get by? close all windows? buy electrical heaters? wear sweaters at home?

3rdly, how bad and widespread does the flooding get in the rainy season?

finally, what is the air quality like most of the year around? since scooters are ubiquitous, i imagine that there would be a fair degree of vehicular pollution and particle suspension in the air.

i hope some of you manage to find the time to share your experiences and opinions. thanks for the help and all your replies will be appreciated.

[hong]

After u ride your bike round round the city without wearing your helmet, wash your hair and you can see the shampoo colour turn Black!

[Ajarn]

hi everyone, i might be moving to CM in April with my gf for work but i also have other possible job offers in a few other cities like taipei and KL. i would prefer CM because of it's buddhist culture, laidback lifestyle and the low cost of living but i have a heard a few things about the weather which perhaps some of you can tell me more about.  the air quality is important to me cos of allergies and the temp is important to my gf cos of certain skin conditions.

firstly, how hot does it get in april and may? i've read and heard that it regularly goes up to 40C which sounds prohibitively hot to me. is that true? and is that a dry kind of heat or is it very humid as well?

Yes, it's true. 40 degrees is not uncommon throughout April. It's a fairly dry heat

2ndly, how cold does it get in dec/jan? again i've read and heard stories of it dropping to 12C or even 10 at night. is that true? how often does that happen? i assume most homes do not have built-in heating, so how does everyone get by? close all windows? buy electrical heaters? wear sweaters at home? 

Yes, from Dec- Feb it can get quite chilly at night. 10 degees is not uncommon, or even lower temps... We get by by wearing extra clothes, mostly.

3rdly, how bad and widespread does the flooding get in the rainy season?

Flooding is normally of little concern. This year was different.

finally, what is the air quality like most of the year around? since scooters are ubiquitous, i imagine that there would be a fair degree of vehicular pollution and particle suspension in the air.

From the middle of Dec until abou May, the visible air quality in Chiang Mai sucks

i hope some of you manage to find the time to share your experiences and opinions. thanks for the help and all your replies will be appreciated.

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[Ajarn]

After u ride your bike round round the city without wearing your helmet, wash your hair and you can see the shampoo colour turn Black! 

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Complete nonsense

[hong]

After u ride your bike round round the city without wearing your helmet, wash your hair and you can see the shampoo colour turn Black! 

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Complete nonsense

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It's seem like someone have not do his riding in CM! Complete ignorant

[p1p]

Methinks the contributor is referring to the hair growing on the soles of his feet. Amazing what you can pick up when you drag your feet around town ...

[Nepal4me]

Taipei gets hot as he11 as does KL and humid. Taipei is a crappy place to live. In general the Thai people are a lot more pleasureable to be around than the Chinese altho Taiwan Chinese are a lot more polite than their counterparts in HK and on the mainland. Quality of life is going to be way better in CM than Taipei, not enough experience in KL to comment on its quality of life. Pollution and traffic in Taipei are really bad, not that they're great in CM. It rains 12 months of the year in Taipei. Virtually impossible to park your car anywhere in Taipei. The scooters are ubiquitous and dangerous. Do you get the idea that I love Taipei? Not!

[hong]

Methinks the contributor is referring to the hair growing on the soles of his feet. Amazing what you can pick up when you drag your feet around town ...

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I think this is the guy whose hair growing on the soles of his feet and do his stupid act before, that why he know. haha

[dseawarrior]

Methinks the contributor is referring to the hair growing on the soles of his feet. Amazing what you can pick up when you drag your feet around town ...

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I think this is the guy whose hair growing on the soles of his feet and do his stupid act before, that why he know. haha

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I agree with Hong. The air pollution in Chiang Mai is really bad -- especially during the "burning season." Slash and burn farming and other "dirty" methods of agriculture are still alive and well in Thailand. Composting and more organic methods are nearly unheard of... much easier to clear brush by setting it on fire -- which many Thais love to do! The Thais seem like they are still living in the stone age for certain practices... Mai koi dee loei!

Yes, it can get very hot in CM. (even though Thais refer to CM as being the "cooler" part of Thailand). If you are fit, exercise moderately, eat properly and drink properly you can acclimatize. Or, conversely, your body can fall apart if you do not take good care of it.

That, of course, is up to you!

dseawarrior

[Gulliver_in_LOS]

After u ride your bike round round the city without wearing your helmet, wash your hair and you can see the shampoo colour turn Black! 

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Is this a fact?

Just curious.

G

[Ajarn]

After u ride your bike round round the city without wearing your helmet, wash your hair and you can see the shampoo colour turn Black! 

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Is this a fact?

Just curious.

G

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No.

[jomama]

It is fair to warn anyone that last year's "burning season" was horrendous. You couoldn't see the mountains even when quite close. There were reportedly "hundreds" of forest fires burning between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son; in fact they had to close the airport at MHS for a time due to almost zero visibility.

It's lovely here now, though, and the cool season is coming. Actually a bit chilly some mornings.

[Gulliver_in_LOS]

It is fair to warn anyone that last year's "burning season" was horrendous. You couoldn't see the mountains even when quite close. There were reportedly "hundreds" of forest fires burning between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son; in fact they had to close the airport at MHS for a time due to almost zero visibility.

It's lovely here now, though, and the cool season is coming. Actually a bit chilly some mornings.

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Very true.

(By the way, does your avatar had something to do with it? )

Cheers,

G

[hong]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...indpost&p=90899

[kalliorocks]

thanks everyone for your replies. to summarise, i get the impression that it does get very hot in the hot season but thankfully it's a dry heat and people on the forum don't seem to mind it too much or i imagine there would be more comments on that issue. And it does get quite cold in winter but again, the lack of commentary suggests that it is bearable and liveable. the air pollution sounds quite bad during the peak of the burning season but it's short-lived one. overall the air quality year-round is pretty ok but also depending on, i suppose, if you frequent heavily-used thoroughfares. that is a little surprising for me cos i just read that chiang mai itself only has less than 200,000 people. i wouldn't figure a population that small would be able to generate that much smog.

[agsnowdon]

i wouldn't figure a population that small would be able to generate that much smog.

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Personally I don't fid smog to be a problem hope you have god time when you arrive

Ash

[Gulliver_in_LOS]

thanks everyone for your replies. to summarise, i get the impression that it does get very hot in the hot season but thankfully it's a dry heat and people on the forum don't seem to mind it too much or i imagine there would be more comments on that issue. And it does get quite cold in winter but again, the lack of commentary suggests that it is bearable and liveable. the air pollution sounds quite bad during the peak of the burning season but it's short-lived one. overall the air quality year-round is pretty ok but also depending on, i suppose, if you frequent heavily-used thoroughfares. that is a little surprising for me cos i just read that chiang mai itself only has less than 200,000 people. i wouldn't figure a population that small would be able to generate that much smog.

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It would greatly help to know your current location, and the nature of your work to evaluate how much adaptation you will need. Obviously it isn't the same if you are moving from Sweden or Singapore for example? Or your work involves driving around, or it is in an air conditioned office? etc.

Cheers,

G

[meadish_sweetball]

While the registered population of CM city may well still be 200.000 (even though I think it may be up to 300.000 by now), the actual number of people in the city perimeter will be a lot larger. This is partially due to an intense and growing number of tourists, but mostly to the fact that so many people registered in other areas (or never registered in the case of many highland peoples) live and work in the city without being registered here.

The exact nature and composition of the smog is still not clear to me either, but I think it is safe to say that even though it is bad enough, traffic is not the major contributor.

Dust and particles from burning forest, grass and trash, as well as dust from construction sites seem more likely to be the main sources.

[kalliorocks]

i'll be coming from finland. i've always preferred cooler weather and have always disliked hot and humid conditions. i've experienced hot (40+) and dry (20%) when i was living in australia for a few years and that was liveable cos it was still cool in the mornings. correct me if i'm wrong but it sounds like hot season in CM might be similar in that respect, ie, cool in the early mornings and scorching by the afternoon. i'll be teaching yoga so that will be indoors but not air-conditioned and i don't expect to be moving around much except for necessary chores and commuting.

[Ajarn]

Dust and particles from burning forest, grass and trash, as well as dust from construction sites seem more likely to be the main sources.

From my travels around, I would agree with that assessment. Also, the fact that when burning is not going on, our air is fairly clear...

[Thetyim]

I don't agree that the heat is a dry heat.

The humidity is high everywhere in Thailand

[Ajarn]

I don't agree that the heat is a dry heat.

The humidity is high everywhere in Thailand

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When compared to Bkk, or any other coastal areas, Chiang Mai seems dry by comparison, to me.

[dseawarrior]

I don't agree that the heat is a dry heat.

The humidity is high everywhere in Thailand

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When compared to Bkk, or any other coastal areas, Chiang Mai seems dry by comparison, to me.

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Myself coming from the San Francisco Bay Area. CM is horrendously hot and humid by comparison. Acclimation does play a big part. Don't kid yourself, it gets hot in the afternoon every day in Chiang Mai -- except for a few weeks in the cold season or when it is rainy...

Then, again, the rains and floods in CM have been wild this year...

For the smog -- which seemed to settle in from about January to May, some people have explained it is because Chiang Mai sits in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains all around... Perfect for the old weather phenomenon of "air inversion" where relatively cooler air sits under hotter air (the cooler air is heavier and the warmer air on top acts as a local lid for the bowl... trapping pollutants so they cannot be "blown out" as easily from the bowl...

Add in lots of polluting vehicles, lots of dust and lots of construction and the smog can be very hard to take sometimes...

And why do those Thais love to burn so much? Ever hear of global warming? I guess they like their gardens/ yards to be neat, tidy and black in color! And black black exhaust from so many pickups! Do people know the concept of getting an engine tune up? It saves fuel, too! But many Thais are not big on "maintainence" from what I have seen... But there are exceptions...

LOS & paradise is everywhere -- it all depends on your perspective...

Gotta live in CM to really understand the weather there -- otherwise it is all relative...

Cheers,

dseawarrior