Chiang Rai News
Cold Weather Kills in Northern Thailand
- Sitting by a Fire trying to keep warm in Chiangrai Province
CHIANGRAI TIMES – Two men in Thailand’s northern Lampang province died of exposure to the cold wave while 22 provinces in the upper part of the country were declared catastrophe zones, according to Thai authorities.
Ministry of Public Health’s Bureau of Epidemiology reported Monday that the cold-related deaths were identified as a man, aged 52, with emphysema as well as a man, aged 53, who had drunk alcohol & died of apparent exposure to cold spell.
As temperatures in some areas in the North of Thailand have dropped to 3-5 degrees Celsius while some areas have faced with the sudden cold, people were advised to keep themselves warm by eating hot foods, drinks & doing modest exercise but refrain from drinking alcoholic drinks.
Meanwhile, the Department of Catastrophe Mitigation & Prevention reported that over twenty,000 villages in 22 northern provinces have been hit by harsh weather since early November & so were declared catastrophe zones.
The provinces are Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Phrae, Uttaradit, Pitsanulok, Nan, Tak, Phayao, Lampang, Lampoon, Sakon Nakhon, Lei, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, Ubonratchathani, Mahasalakam, Mukdahan, Kalasin, Buri Ram, Suphanburi & Ratchaburi.
According to the Meteorological Department, a ridge of high pressure still blankets upper Thailand, causing cooler weather. The westerly trough will move over the upper North, causing light rain & 2-4 degree temperature drops.
