Temperatures In North Drop, People Need Blankets

[george]

Temperatures in North drop, poor people need blankets

CHIANG MAI: -- Concerned officials are requesting blanket donations for the poor in this northern capital province as the Meteorological Department has issued a warning that temperatures in the North will drop further.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office in Chiang Mai has surveyed 22 districts and two sub-districts and found that 174,523 people are in need of blankets while the province has only a stock of 30,000 blankets to dispense.

Realising the lack of blankets for the poor during the current winter season, provincial authorities have made an emergency allocation of Bt2 million to buy 11,000 blankets given to the needy, especially to elderly, orphans and people with disabilities as a priority.

Chiang Mai governor Suwat Tuntipat Chiang Mai said ethnic Karen living in Omkoi district -- the poorest in the province -- are also suffering from chronic pneumonia and breathing problems.

He said Omkoi Hospital had reported that more than 1,000 people suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses during the first eleven months of this year with indications that their numbers would continue rising because the local population simply do not have enough blankets or warm clothes.

In 2004, the number of patients stood at 894, meaning a rise in the number of patients of more than 10 per cent.

According to the governor, poor villagers may contract additional lung problems as they sit around fires to protect themselves from the cold, he said. Keeping warm may cause an illness.

The weather department announced earlier that temperatures in the North could drop from 2 to 4 degrees Celsius as a high pressure weather system from China arrived in the region today.

It said the weather in the North could become warmer on Dec 7 but that poor visibility will persist due to heavy fog.

--TNA 2005-11-05

[redrus]

Thats not good for these poor people George.

How low were the temps? It was minus 12 with winchill here in north uk last Thursday.

Really not nice.

redrus

[Jimmy2004]

I moved house today to Nakhon Sawan from Bangkok and I'm freezing my ass off. I'm only a third of the way to ChiangMai but I'd say it is about 18C outside at the moment.

[Foggy Bottom]

Temperatures in North drop, poor people need blankets

provincial authorities have  made an emergency allocation of Bt2 million to buy 11,000 blankets given to the needy

--TNA 2005-11-05

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

2,000,000 / 11,000 = B 181.81 each

They need to shop at Talad Tom Payom where they are on sale for B 99 each

(or at many of the other markets scattered around town)

It has been chilly, but nowhere near 2 - 4 degrees

It got to around 10 or 12 degrees C on Moonmuang Road about midnight midweek but obviously will be worse in the hills

- hope it doesn't hit the same temp as Christmas Eve 1999 when beer was freezing solid in the bottle on tables along the east moat .... and that was at about 9pm - not even the coldest part of the night.

Guess Beer Chang will have some new advertising footage soon?

[Jimmy2004]

I moved house today to Nakhon Sawan from Bangkok and I'm freezing my ass off. I'm only a third of the way to ChiangMai but I'd say it is about 18C outside at the moment.

Remember: I got aircon but I don't have central heating!!

[Jimmy2004]

2,000,000 / 11,000 = B 181.81 each

The blnkets are probably 99B each and the other 81B (x 11000) is going in to someone's pockets.

[millwall_fan]

We're having a mild spell in london at the moment: its about 8C! last week it hardly got above freezing, admittedly we have central heating, but it doesnt work too well outside.

[Fore Man]

Yeah, well mates it's 22 here right now at 0600 in Mae Rim (north of CM). A far cry from being cold. I know it gets chilly up in the hills but I have a strong feeling someone is out to make a few million baht from unnecessary blanket sales. Wonder who that could be

[cobra]

Yeah, well mates it's 22 here right now at 0600 in Mae Rim (north of CM).  A far cry from being cold .. 

It's all what your use to I guess,

We wear flip-flops and tee-shirts when going to the convenience store when it's below zero, (Anch, Alaska), but turn into a sweaty mess at 70' above,

[john b good]

RF in Eastern Siberia we had "lop sip haa" a couple of weeks ago and looking forward to "lop haa sip"

This is not bad when you are prepared for it so I am no taking anything away from the low temps in the north.

[KhunMarco]

Gee this morning I found a pinguin in my closet...this is not good, not good..

[massein]

Why is this such an emergency. Every year winter arrives, and everyone know it is going to be freezing in the mountains. I have compassin for those that or suffering, but blankets for the needy should of been pass out weeks ago. On the subject of price of blankets, as everyone knows there are different quality of blankets so naturally there will we a range in price, NGO and government should provide the best quality possible so they will last from year to year. i have a quilt on my bed, made by my mother 50 years ago, its about 65 degrees here now.

[cgigate]

It is not cold at 20 C!

it is just good for me!

my room always is set to 20C

[RamdomChances]

I moved house today to Nakhon Sawan from Bangkok and I'm freezing my ass off. I'm only a third of the way to ChiangMai but I'd say it is about 18C outside at the moment.

Remember: I got aircon but I don't have central heating!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You should of been up here about 2 week ago, down to 14C in the nights, suprising the differance in Temp as we are only about 2-3 hrs north of BKK.

Back on topic, that need blankets!!! Cold season comes around every year, it's not like some sort of random natrual disaster, after cold season it will get hot and then after that it will rain a lot, and we'll have flooding, then it will get cold again....same every year.

RC

[terdsak_12]

They do this blanket thing every year, what do these people do, throw them in the bin when the weather starts to warm up a bit?

[sierra01]

Isn't the handing out of blankets a seasonal thing? I seem to remember the same last year, what happened to those blankets?

[OlRedEyes]

The Mystery of the Disappearing Blankets.

Does it really get down to 2 deg in those parts? I should move to CM... miss my seasons.

[ThaiPauly]

It must have been cold last night, my Wife was walking round the house with a coat on.!

For me this is why I settled up here. It great to have some chilly weather for a change.

I do feel sorry for those that are suffering because of it, but nearly every country in the worlld has climate changes , I just dont understand why they are not prepared for these "Cold Snaps"?

[Pond Life]

I went treking in the mountains around Pai just before Xmas about 10 yrs ago.

I asked my guide if I should take my sleeping bag, he said no, its not that cold & the villages have lots of blankets.

The first night we stayed in a very poor village & the shack we stayed in had only 3 walls, made of split bamboo. I dont know the temp that night but as an Englishman I know what freezing feels like & it was pretty close. I slept fully clothed with 2 blankets under & 4 blankets on top & my friend under there with me. Im not saying it was life threatening but we got bugger all sleep it was so cold.

The point Im trying to make is that its very different in a bamboo shack in the mountains than it is in a "real" house in Chiang Mai, also one blanket helps very little in those conditions, you need lots.

I agree this happens every year & maybe they should be better prepared, but this is Thailand.

So they're looking for donations of blankets, if I was feeling generous where would I take an arm full of blankets ? Im definatly not giving cash ! & I dont fancy a trek just now.

[csmith]

Well was out having a beer in Chiangmai last night .... and on the way home at some unearthly hour ... the outside temp was about 26 degrees (according to the car) ... and that was in the shady part of the Earth.

But does get cold up in those hills ....

BUT (shout off-topic) did anyone else in C-M notice the earthquake at 4:35pm yesterday (Sunday)?

[zzap]

Been pretty warm here last night, woke up because I was too hot under the precautionary, preventative blanket.

[unforgiven]

Temperatures in North drop, poor people need blankets

CHIANG MAI: -- Concerned officials are requesting blanket donations for the poor in this northern capital province as the Meteorological Department has issued a warning that temperatures in the North will drop further.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office in Chiang Mai has surveyed 22 districts and two sub-districts and found that 174,523 people are in need of blankets while the province has only a stock of 30,000 blankets to dispense.

Realising the lack of blankets for the poor during the current winter season, provincial authorities have  made an emergency allocation of Bt2 million to buy 11,000 blankets given to the needy, especially to elderly, orphans and people with disabilities as a priority.

Chiang Mai governor Suwat Tuntipat Chiang Mai said ethnic Karen living in Omkoi district -- the poorest in the province -- are also suffering from chronic pneumonia and breathing problems.

He said Omkoi Hospital had reported that more than 1,000 people suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses during the first eleven months of this year with indications that their numbers would continue rising because the local population simply do not have enough blankets or warm clothes.

In 2004, the number of patients stood at 894, meaning a rise in the number of patients of more than 10 per cent.

According to the governor, poor villagers may contract additional lung problems as they sit around fires to protect themselves from the cold, he said. Keeping warm may cause an illness.

The weather department announced earlier that temperatures in the North could drop from 2 to 4 degrees Celsius as a high pressure weather system from China arrived in the region today.

It said the weather in the North could become warmer on Dec 7 but that poor visibility will persist due to heavy fog.

--TNA 2005-11-05

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

blankets....it's a joke ...? right,can't they put more clothes on......I'm from alaska and go with shorts at 4 derees,, as long as theres no wind.........national blanky disaster,, what next,,,, som tam blight..... give$$$.... lame $$$$ excuse

[Pond Life]

Unforgiven, yes I do believe that you walk around in shorts in 4 deg in Alaska, but I bet you spent the night in a centraly heated house, got up in the morning to a hot shower, walked in your shorts to your heated car to drive down town to walk between heated shops in your shorts.

Get out of the bar & go see for yourself the living conditions in the high altitude poor hilltribe villages, spend the night in an unheated, uninsulated, not windproof shack with just a few blankets. then get up in the morning & wander around in your shorts while you contemplate a wash in cold water.

Whats going to be your next comment "why dont they build proper houses ? why dont they have UBC ?".

[zzap]

Right on, Pond Life.

And I bet "unforgiven" owns a blanket or two to cover himself while sleeping...

Drop him near the Thai Burmese border without help for a few days and let's see if he will ask for a blanket or insist on spending the night trotting up and down in his shorts!

[Tywais]

Right on, Pond Life.

And I bet "unforgiven" owns a blanket or two to cover himself while sleeping...

Drop him near the Thai Burmese border without help for a few days and let's see if he will ask for a blanket or insist on spending the night trotting up and down in his shorts!

He forgets he has the option of being cold or being warm, they do not.

[massein]

Right on, Pond Life.

And I bet "unforgiven" owns a blanket or two to cover himself while sleeping...

Drop him near the Thai Burmese border without help for a few days and let's see if he will ask for a blanket or insist on spending the night trotting up and down in his shorts!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He forgets he has the option of being cold or being warm, they do not.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It does get pretty cold in the mountains, even snows sometimes. In fact last year a Farang froz todeath around Mai Rim. Word was he got drunk and past out on his front porch. And every year a few Hill tribe ppl freeze. The point is that this is senseless. Winter here is a very short seasom , and it should not be very hard to be prepared for. The hill tribe populations base remains pretty stable. Here in my villege there are a few pretty cold days. When I still live in a Thai wood house I complitate about how to bill a fire in the house. LOL. Every morning I can see my neighbor standing around campfire now waiting for the sun to begin warming things up. The power grid is not strong enough in the rual areas tosusport electric stoves. and if it was the ppl could not afford the cost. The point is , This should not be such a major problem

[Canadianvisitor]

If they inform the kind people of the North and the Hilltribes to save up feathers from chickens and sew two blankets together with the feathers in between. Then sew acroos the blanket in about one half meter squares to keep the feathers in place, that will work for the future years. There is nothing like a big feather or down comforter to keep old man winter out!

For now they should all snuggle up and use body heat as a natural furnace. Keep thier feet warm. Sleep as a family.

You typically loose 2 degrees celcius for every 300 meters above sea level in that type of terrain.

I feel sorry for the people, we all need to educate them on the cold. Weather is going to get even crazier as the planet looses balance.

Then we can be sure they are prepared every year.

Hats keep in the heat very well, even in bed.

Dry socks if available work wonders.

More tips will come when I think about it.

Like dress in layers of clothing with the loosest at the end.

Put your feet in a pillow case at night.

I hope this gets someone some help.

[eddieold]

Temperatures in North drop, poor people need blankets

provincial authorities have  made an emergency allocation of Bt2 million to buy 11,000 blankets given to the needy

--TNA 2005-11-05

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

2,000,000 / 11,000 = B 181.81 each

They need to shop at Talad Tom Payom where they are on sale for B 99 each

(or at many of the other markets scattered around town)

It has been chilly, but nowhere near 2 - 4 degrees

It got to around 10 or 12 degrees C on Moonmuang Road about midnight midweek but obviously will be worse in the hills

- hope it doesn't hit the same temp as Christmas Eve 1999 when beer was freezing solid in the bottle on tables along the east moat .... and that was at about 9pm - not even the coldest part of the night.

Guess Beer Chang will have some new advertising footage soon?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think more carefully read you will find post #1 speaks of a drop OF not TO.

[Ajarn]

It does get pretty cold in the mountains, even snows sometimes. In fact last year a Farang froz todeath around Mai Rim

Not true. He died from exposure. It doesn't snow anywhere in Thailand, either..

[Ajarn]

- hope it doesn't hit the same temp as Christmas Eve 1999 when beer was freezing solid in the bottle on tables along the east moat .... and that was at about 9pm - not even the coldest part of the night.

What a load of crap