Up here in chiang mai the annnual slash and burn activities have started up and this year it appears to be extremely bad, so bad that you can actuually wake up in the morning and see particulate matter where it has fallen down on your property.

Does Phuket also suffer from this problem every year? Is the current air quality filled with smoke either from local slash and burn or from smoke that has travelled down to the south?

thanks !

Some years we get some light smog coming up from Indonesia during their burning season, but nothing as bad as I see reported about CM.

Nice, sunny and warm weather, no smoke.

no rain for 3weeks except 10mins last night..

hard times

no rain for 3weeks except 10mins last night..

hard times

And a lot more rain 3 nights ago.

Raining like hell in Kamala now. We need it.

Lot's of lightning here in Kata, thunder rumbles. But it's only just spitting a few spots of rain. Waiting, waiting .....

sounds good guys, its really bad up here right now...i mean really.

well i guess my post ended the dry spell, about time.

Been sprinkling for a while. Very comfortable now the dog accidentally learned how to turn the fan on...

It was very hazy on the Burmese junk out of Chalong this evening. Don't know whether that was the fires, though.

Just looked at the radar, there's a heap of heavy cloud heading across from Krabi.

Could get very wet shortly.

Been tanking down in Patong for the last 3h

i just lost all my vegetables seed, have about a foot of water in the back

hasn't done much more than sprinkle in Chalong.

light rain last night in Rawai, hoping there is more to come.

its nice and cool, fresh and plesent this a.m., wish it would stay like this all day

i'm sure its a million times better in phuket and the south than Chiang Mai in every way. a large part of the year up there is unlivable, between the smog in Feb/Narch, the 40+deg temps in April and May, the flooding in June/July, i really don't get whey farangs like that place

light rain last night in Rawai, hoping there is more to come.

its nice and cool, fresh and plesent this a.m., wish it would stay like this all day

i'm sure its a million times better in phuket and the south than Chiang Mai in every way. a large part of the year up there is unlivable, between the smog in Feb/Narch, the 40+deg temps in April and May, the flooding in June/July, i really don't get whey farangs like that place

its cheap living, nice people and nice climate in December and January

half an inch of rain here in kata since 8 last night

light rain last night in Rawai, hoping there is more to come.

its nice and cool, fresh and plesent this a.m., wish it would stay like this all day

i'm sure its a million times better in phuket and the south than Chiang Mai in every way. a large part of the year up there is unlivable, between the smog in Feb/Narch, the 40+deg temps in April and May, the flooding in June/July, i really don't get whey farangs like that place

its cheap living, nice people and nice climate in December and January

half an inch of rain here in kata since 8 last night

2 good months a year don't really make up for 10 crappy ones. but there is some nice mountain countyside around CM i will admit. i wish we had more high mountains down south.

its a bit off topic but Thai's always seem to locate their cities in valleys and low lieing areas which get hot and smoggy, when the best land, and cleanest air is up on top of the hills. i know most of that land is held by the governement and doesn't have any proper title.

personally, i would live up north if i found a place above 1000m high with proper land title and access to a major city where i could find some farang necessities now and again, but have never found such a place.

Edited February 19, 201214 yr by stevehaigh

2 good months a year don't really make up for 10 crappy ones. but there is some nice mountain countyside around CM i will admit. i wish we had more high mountains down south.

its a bit off topic but Thai's always seem to locate their cities in valleys and low lieing areas which get hot and smoggy, when the best land, and cleanest air is up on top of the hills. i know most of that land is held by the governement and doesn't have any proper title.

personally, i would live up north if i found a place above 1000m high with proper land title and access to a major city where i could find some farang necessities now and again, but have never found such a place.

Located in valleys because thats where the rivers are to supply water

i'm sure its a million times better in phuket and the south than Chiang Mai in every way. a large part of the year up there is unlivable, between the smog in Feb/Narch, the 40+deg temps in April and May, the flooding in June/July, i really don't get whey farangs like that place

It's because Phuket no longer feels like Thailand, it's a stressful tourist trap overrun with hookers and riffraff. Its main advantages are clean air and nice beaches, although not everyone has an interest in the latter. I'm not trying to run it down, I have a home in both places, but CM's strengths are Phuket's weaknesses, and vice versa.

Chiang Mai is great for riding motorcycles, thats why im up here, but there's really only 3 months of nice weather, but its heavenly when its nice. Summer time the sun is like needles though, but riding through the mountains the temperature drops significantly. But all this smoke is a major downer. The rainy season in 2011 was also depressing, it rained almost everyday for 2 months straight.

Chiang Mai is great for riding motorcycles, thats why im up here, but there's really only 3 months of nice weather, but its heavenly when its nice. Summer time the sun is like needles though, but riding through the mountains the temperature drops significantly. But all this smoke is a major downer. The rainy season in 2011 was also depressing, it rained almost everyday for 2 months straight.

speaking of bike rides, i just drove around the south coast road and its really nice out there today. a little bit of cloud cover is keeping the temps down. according to wind guru we should see a lot more rain over the next couple of days. bring it on!

Supposedly more rain is due tonight.

I drove the length of the island last night, steady, light rain all the way (at 3 AM)

Like someone said, we need it and for it to happen late at night is great.

More tonight will be welcomed also, was starting to turn brown around here.

As for Chiang Mai weather: I was there once about 13 years ago and was shocked at the smog-like conditions with smoke heavily in the air.

I left after 2 days and didn't go back until 3 years ago when it was fine.

Traffic seemed as bad as Phuket but, the zoo was impressive and the mountains surrounding the area were great.

I certainly couldn't live there during that smoky part of the year.

But then, I don't like Phuket during high season. Too many tourists, too much traffic and Nai Harn beach is such a mess anymore, compared to years ago.

The word got out I guess.

I got 2.25CM of rain in at my house in Rawai overnight. Pretty good for the driest month of the year. I noticed the wind had shifted earlier this week, rather early for that...

2cm.. i had at least 45cm in phuket town. rained from 8 to 5am with only a 20mins break

cold fresh air is great

Edited February 19, 201214 yr by thaiIand

2cm.. i had at least 45cm in phuket town. rained from 8 to 5am with only a 20mins break

cold fresh air is great

45 CM? Really, almost a half a meter of rain and you were't flooded? I think you might need a rain gauge... But I'm sure in rained more in Phuket Town then Rawai.

2cm.. i had at least 45cm in phuket town. rained from 8 to 5am with only a 20mins break

cold fresh air is great

45 CM? Really, almost a half a meter of rain and you were't flooded? I think you might need a rain gauge... But I'm sure in rained more in Phuket Town then Rawai.

I think it does rain more in Phuket Town than Rawai, but agree, 45 centimeters would mean massive flooding.

2cm.. i had at least 45cm in phuket town. rained from 8 to 5am with only a 20mins break

cold fresh air is great

45 CM? Really, almost a half a meter of rain and you were't flooded? I think you might need a rain gauge... But I'm sure in rained more in Phuket Town then Rawai.

I think it does rain more in Phuket Town than Rawai, but agree, 45 centimeters would mean massive flooding.

How about a decimal point, and call it 4.5 cm

my computer room was full of water i had to mop it every 30mins, 9hrs of hard rain

Edited February 19, 201214 yr by thaiIand

Half a metre in Phket Town then! Too bad the rest of the island only got 2-5 cm.