Temperatures keep dropping in Thai North, Northeast

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND, December 18 (TNA) - A cold spell remains in the Thai North and Northeast, with temperatures having fallen below 10 degrees Celsius in many areas. The temperature on the top of the Doi Inthanon mountain is under 0 degree Celsius and there has been frost for three days.In Chiang Mai Province, there was frost at many highlands, including Doi Inthanon mountain, where temperatures have remained under 0 degree Celsius and there has been frost for three days. the Kew Mae Pan trail and a grass field in front of the office of the Doi Inthanon National Park, on Wednesday when frost emerged widely in the mountain for the first time in years. Frost also blanketed the Doi Ang Khang mountain and covered plantations of vegetables, flowering plants and fruits on Doi Inthanon. In Chiang Rai Province, the lowest temperature was measured at 7 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning and it was the lowest in a decade, resulting in local traders making good sales of winter gear at Doi Wao and Sailom Joy markets in Mae Sai District despite a price hike by 20-30 per cent, while heaters imported from China were sold out with over 10 million baht expected to change hands at local border markets daily. In Nan Province, four districts namely Chalerm Prakiat, Chiang Klang, Thung Chang and Bo Klue, have been declared cold-stricken areas and local authorities are distributing winter gear to more than 14,000 victims. In Phitsanulok Province, temperatures in Baan Rong Khla in Nakhon Thai District fell to 1 degree Celsius and frost also covered grass and roofs there for the first time this year. The Northern Meteorological Center reported that the cold weather remains in many provinces with lowest temperatures ranging from 7-10 degrees Celsius and likely to further drop. In Sakhon Nakhon Province in the Thai Northeast, all areas have been declared cold-stricken zones for three days and temperatures are likely to further drop there, prompting provincial authorities to have distributed blankets to rural people, while local students having studied in the sunlight to keep themselves warm. In Khon Kaen Province, more patients of winter illnesses were seeking treatment at hospitals in the Nakhon Khon Kaen Municipality, as they were suffering from, among others, influenza, allergy and skin diseases. Doctors advised people to exercise, drink warm water refrain from extremely hot showers and bathe faster. In Yasothon Province, locals made fires to protect their cattle from cold weather. Meanwhile, Chatchai Phromlert, Director-General of the Ministry of Interior's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, reported that nine provinces in the Thai North and Northeast have been declared cold-spell disaster zones so far, including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Tak, Loey, Nakhon Phanom, Nong Bua Lamphu Provinces, saying that his department has coordinated with authorities in all the affected provinces in providing assistance to locals, focused on those in vulnerable groups and those in rural areas, namely the elderly, the disabled, abandoned children and low-income people. Heavy downpours were, in the meantime, forecast in southern Thailand from December 17-19, with people in nine provinces having been warned of possible flash floods and mudslides, including Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phattalung, Songkhla, Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Satun. (TNA)