Bangkok Shivers As Mercury Drops

BANGKOK, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- For a second straight night, Bangkok residents shivered as an unusual cold spell which blanketed the northern and central parts of the country pushed the temperature in the capital even lower. Residents in the capital have been experiencing temperatures ranging from 13 16 degrees Celsius for the past two nights, prompting people to put on additional layers of clothing to protect themselves from the biting cold. The country's Meteorology Department, in a statement to the local media, warned the people to prepare for colder weather as the temperature was expected to drop further in the coming days. "There will be a further drop in temperature by one to three degrees Celsius in the next two days owing to a strong high pressure zone covering the South China Sea and upper Thailand," it said. According to the department, the minimum temperature in the north and northeast are expected to range from 6 to 15 degrees Celsius while in the Central Plains and in the east it was expected to be between 13 and 18 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, the current cold spell endured by Bangkok residents had not breached the record level set in 1975 and 1999 when the temperature in the capital dropped to 10 degrees Celsius and 11.7 Celsius, respectively. Meanwhile, the local media reported that the current cold spell had claimed its first two elderly victims, aged 78 and 72, who lived in Thailand's central district of Muang. An academician at Chulalongkorn University, Sathon Vijarnwannaluk, said something unusual may have happened with the Arctic Oscillation phenomenon which has discharged a more intense cold wave than usual. He said the country's weather would return to normal in the middle of next month. "This might be the last time you feel cold this year. Please enjoy it and make yourself warm," he said adding that people should not be worried with the cold spell experienced by the country. -- BERNAMA