Thailand’s Meteorological Department has warned of sweltering to intense heat in Bangkok and its surrounding areas in the current hot season.
It said on March 5 that temperatures of around 50 deg C can be felt in some provinces this week, local media reported.
The so-called feels like temperature measures how hot or cold the outdoors actually feels like. It is calculated based on environmental data including air temperature, wind and humidity.
The weather office said that on March 5, the feels like temperature had peaked at 50.6 deg C in Trat province, located about 310km south-east of Bangkok. The reading for the Thai capital was 48.1 deg C.
For March 7, the highest temperature forecast for Bangkok was 37 deg C, with a feels like temperature of 41 deg C, according to weather website AccuWeather.
Beyond the feels like readings, Thailand’s weather department said temperatures in provinces such as Lop Buri and Lampang are expected to reach 40 deg C next week.
The mercury is also forecast to hit 44.5 deg C in some provinces before the end of the hot season, the Thai PBS World news website said.
The Department of Health said such high readings mean the risk of heat exhaustion and even heatstroke.
The authorities have advised people to avoid direct exposure to the sun and to stay hydrated.
Thailand’s hot season generally runs from March to June. The northern and central parts of the country typically experience high humidity and little rainfall.
The all-time high temperature was 45.4 deg C in the western province of Tak on April 15, 2023, according to the Bangkok Post.
It topped the previous record in the northern province of Mae Hong Son, which saw a high of 44.6 deg C on April 28, 2016.
