An abnormally strong high-pressure system from China caused a cold spell in Thailand today, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. The high-pressure system is now covering most of Northern Thailand, where temperatures were 18-23 degrees Celsius this morning, meaning they had dropped by two to four degrees. Highs in the North are expected to peak today at 26-28 degrees Celsius.
In Bangkok, the temperature fell to 21 degrees Celsius. Weather reporters say this is unusually cold, especially in the middle of Thailand’s infamous hot season. The Bangkok area is cold and windy, and rain is expected to cover 10% of the area. The southern region is warmer than the rest of the country, but is expected to have more rain, covering 70% of the area, with occasionally heavy showers.
The meteorological department expects this weather to last for the next two to three days. The department added that this unusually cold weather, in the middle of the hot season, was also recorded six years ago.
In the past, unusual cold spells in Thailand have disrupted the country’s ecosystems. In 2021, a coldspell killed 10 tonnes of fish on a fishing farm in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom. The farmers said they lost 500,000 baht from the fish dying. Fishery officials warned them the fish were not safe to eat.
The chief of the fishery office of Tha Uthen said the fish died from a combination of the cold, and low oxygen content of the water in the stream.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World | Bangkok Post