weather

Graphic Explains How Hot it Feels in Thailand

May 3, 2012

I’ve mentioned the recent spell of sweltering weather we’ve been suffering through here in Bangkok.

Well, we finally have a graphic that illustrates how hot it feels.

Yes, it feels like Thailand is on fire.

Thanks to Annelie (@a_nnelie) for Tweeting this pic yesterday:

(For the record, if this is a recent broadcast, I wasn’t able to locate any related story on the CNN Web site. Perhaps this graphic was related to recent drought problems, though.)

(Image: @a_nnelie.)

{ 0 comments }

Bangkok: 99 Degrees F at 4 p.m. Today

April 22, 2012

2012 04 22 bangkok hot

Just noting for the record: It is extremely hot here in the Thai capital.

It was 99 degrees Fahrenheit — that’s 37 degrees Celsius — at 4 p.m. today.

That is all.

{ 2 comments }

“Cool” weather comes to Bangkok

November 5, 2010

2010-11-05_weather.tiff

I know it’s been all-Thailand-flooding-all-of-the-time in these parts, but a quick note: This will come as no surprise to readers here in Bangkok, but the weather in the city has been absolutely delightful for the past week or so.

We’ve been spared the daily downpours as the rainy season has come to a close, and patches of bright blue have begun peeking through the normally overcast skies.

But what I’ve loved most of all is the relatively — and, if memory serves, unseasonably — “cool” temperatures.

We have been enjoying, if you can believe it, lows in the low 70s Fahrenheit (low 20s Celsius) in the mornings and at night. And it’s been even colder in northern Thailand.

Okay, so it’s hardly frigid here in Krungthep, but for a tropical climate, this dip in temps means the option of occasionally wearing long sleeve shirts. It means walking long distances without perspiring. And — at least for me — it means the ability to open the windows in my office and enjoy the cool breeze, rather than having to rely on air conditioning for a comfortable working environment.

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering: As of yet, we have not forced our adopted street dog to bundle up with a sweater due to the cold, though other pooches in the neighborhood have not been spared such indignities.)

I’m not the only one who’s taken note of this meteorological change, of course: See the #ThaiCold Twitter hashtag for others’ reactions (mostly in Thai).

Here’s to the “cool” temperatures. Fingers crossed this weather holds through February.

{ 0 comments }

“Winter” comes to Bangkok

November 3, 2009

Bangkok residents woke up to something extraordinary this morning: chilly weather.

Okay, so today’s low temperature was still a rather comfortable 64 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18 degrees Celsius. And yes, temps are still climbing up to 80 degrees F (27 degrees C) during the day.

But still. But still.

This is tropical Thailand, don’t forget, where the average monthly temperature in Bangkok never dips below 77 degrees F (25 degrees C).

I love the Kingdom in November and December. For one thing, these “brisk” temperatures mean that you can actually walk down the street without breaking a sweat.

And there’s a sports-related bonus: ESPNSTAR has been carrying the World Series games live. That means that the sounds of baseball can be heard emanating from the TV in the mornings. (Here’s hoping that the Phillies can force games six and seven.)

Between the MLB action and the “chill” in the air, it almost feels like fall in the U.S.

(Weather forecast via CNNGo.)

{ 2 comments }

Fog in Bangkok

January 24, 2009

Fog. In Bangkok.

Fog in Bangkok

This is what the city looked like this morning when I got up. A rare meteorological event here in the Thai captial.

Fog in Bangkok

The strange weather — first the unseasonable coolness, which has since abated, sadly — and now this. The fog was thick enough on Thursday, in fact, to cause disruptions in service at Suvarnabhumi airport.

{ 0 comments }

Thailand’s cold snap

January 12, 2009

Even in January, Bangkok is typically warm.

Not so this year.

For the last few days, the city has been unseasonably cool. There’s no need for fans, much less air conditioning. I’ve even dug out a light windbreaker from the far reaches of my closet, as it’s been genuinely chilly in the mornings and the evenings. In Bangkok, low temperatures have dipped down to the low 60s Fahrenheit (the high teens, Celsius).1

In Thailand’s hilly north, some districts around Chiang Rai have been declared a “cold spell disaster zone.” And a monk in Ayutthaya has died of hypothermia.

A “high pressure ridge from China” is the culprit, according to Thailand’s meteorological department. The cold snap should last until Thursday.

At this rate, I just might have to break out my ear muffs.

  1. I am well aware that these are not exactly frigid temperatures. But I ask my dear readers who are currently freezing in the northeast of the US and in Europe to consider that it’s typically balmy here year-round, and one does get used to tropical temps over time. [↩]

{ 0 comments }