Temperatures Rise

[udon]

TEMPERATURES RISE

Thailand to get hotter and hotter

Meteorologists predict 42C in Tak next week, as the country really starts to sizzle

The next few weeks are forecast to be the hottest of the year, with temperatures in Tak, Lampang and Kanchanaburi likely to exceed 40 degrees Celsius, according to Meteorological Department experts.

The department's director, Suparuek Tunsrirattanawong, said the country usually sees the highest temperatures in the third week of April, unless there are heavy clouds or rainstorms.

The average temperature this summer has been around 37-39C for all regions except the South and the East, which have seen rain, he said.

"Tak and Kanchanaburi have always been the hottest places

in the country each summer due to their geographies," said Suparuek.

The head of Tak's provincial meteorological centre, Somsong Duanmai, said the province saw historic high temperatures last year, with the mercury reaching 43C.

This year, the hottest day was March 19, when the temperature hit 41.6C.

"Next week, we're forecast to reach 42C," he said.

According to Somsong, the province's geography, especially in Muang district, is characterised by a large amount of granite, which absorbs heat during the daytime and releases it at night. So, the heat lingers round the clock.

"The temperature at 4am is about 31C; that's as high as other places in the afternoon," he

said.

According to Meteorological Department statistics, the highest temperature ever recorded in Thailand was 44.5C in Uttaradit in 1960, while Tak saw 43.7C in 1998, the third-hottest day in Thailand's history.

However, this year won't be as hot as last year because there's more rain about, said an official of the department.

In Bangkok and its adjacent provinces, the average temperature will be around 39C. Anond Snidwongs, a scientist who works for the Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research, said Bangkok has become hotter year by year because of the "heat island phenomenon".

This refers to the accumulation of heat in cities, which have a large number of buildings trapping the heat and high use of air conditioners releasing greenhouse gases.

The hotter temperatures seen in Thailand are due to this

phenomenon, rather than global climate change, which will have an effect in the long term, he

said.

According to Anond, the country's average temperature could climb by 2 or 3 degrees Celsius within the next 30 years, resulting in an average high summer temperature of 43C. Global climate change is blamed on an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Chatrarat Kaewmorakot

The Nation

[jdinasia]

Ugh ... and I picked Kanchanaburi to go to for Songkran?

[Scott]

How much of the heat is caused by the hot air being blowin' around by politicians?

[astral]

This refers to the accumulation of heat in cities, which have a large number of buildings trapping the heat and high use of air conditioners releasing greenhouse gases.

According to Anond, the country's average temperature could climb by 2 or 3 degrees Celsius within the next 30 years, resulting in an average high summer temperature of 43C. Global climate change is blamed on an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

And what it Thailand doing to reduce the release of CO2 and make sure Air Conditioners use

environmentally friendly gases?

Somehow I don't remember seeing it on the government agenda.

[Johpa]

Global warming trends do not bode well for Thailand nor the tropical zones in general. Increased average temperatures throughout the year pose increased physical stress on those without air-con and impose increased energy demands in a time of increasing energy costs to power the air-con for the minority. In all liklihood we should see more severe droughts in Isaan and the north punctuated by severe rains in the rainy season leading to increased erosion and flooding

Even a modest rise in sea level, now nearly ineveitable as newer models show accelerating melting of polar ice, could be disasterous for Bangkok and the lower Chao Phraya delta.

Yep, the physical and financial strains of increased global warming mixed in with the inevitable demise of the social glue that holds Thailand together may cause a mass exodus of the elite towards the north and towards the shores of the US where newer family outposts have been established for just this sort of situation

[jdinasia]

huh?

Forget La Nina I guess....

Global warming ..... hmmmmmmm the shores of the US ... double hmmmmmmm ... for just this sort of situatin .... triple hmmmmm ;b

[sonthaya]

I just whish we could have some of the heat send to Denmark,

it's easter and the temp is only +5 in the daytime strong wind

the chill factor makes it feel even colder, please send us some

[Pattaya_Fox]

I just whish we could have some of the heat send to Denmark,

it's easter and the temp is only +5 in the daytime strong wind

the chill factor makes it feel even colder, please send us some

Ordered some heat for you sonthaya....should be arriving soon.....now mind you don`t catch a chill now.

[jdinasia]

I believe it now ! the whole global warming thing ..... I saw tons of ice melting in Kanchanaburi ..... (the ice in my beer ... the ice in the water being thrown etc!