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Published on March 31, 2008

The hot season is earlier and fiercer than before. The mercury in many provin-ces is already hitting 40 degrees Celsius.

The Met Office says temperatures are soaring in Tak and Uttaradit. Bureau boss Somchai Baimoung says "it's very early for temperatures to be this high.

"The hottest period this year will probably be in the third or fourth week of April."

Somchai warns April 12 to April 16 Songkran Festival heat will be blistering this year, and easily hotter than last.

The highest reading forecast by the bureau is 43C in the Northeast. Experts blame the blazing heat on deforestation to make way for rice paddy in the Northeast. Replanting woodlands will reduce the temperature.

"Personally, I think the planet is hotter because there are fewer forests, there is more concrete - which reflects heat. This is obvious in Bangkok, a city covered in concrete. The lowest temperature in the capital is higher than the lowest outside the city," one tells DailyXpress.

"Although the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change says 20th-century average temperatures were higher by about 1C, it feels like it's hotter than that," he says.

The Public Health Ministry is warning people to avoid heat-stroke, which can kill.

Medical Services Department boss Dr Rewat Wisarutwej says children, the elderly, those with high blood pressure, overweight people, poor sleepers and heavy drinkers need to be extra careful.

Rewat advises you drink two litres of water a day - that's six to eight glasses. Heat-stroke symptoms include headache, vomiting and no perspiring in hot weather.

xtra

scorching

temperatures

>> 40-430 Celsius  expected in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Lamphun, Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Tak, Khampang Phet, Phetchabun and all 19 provinces in the Northeast.

>> 40-420 Celsius  expected in Nakhon Sawan, Lop Buri, Kanchanaburi, Suphan Buri, Prachin Buri and Sakaew.

By Wannapa Phetdee

Daily Xpress