Bangkok to stay cool till end of Feb

Bangkok will enjoy a relatively cool spell until the end of next month, according to the Meteorological Department's deputy director-general Somchai Bai-muang.

Temperatures in Bangkok's Bang Na district, where the department is headquartered, hovered around 19.3 degrees Celsius on one day recently. It was the lowest level for this year to date.





"Other parts of the country, except

the South, will also stay cool until the end of February," Somchai said.

He explained that this was because the cool season had started rather late this time.

"Normally, the weather starts getting cool in late November, but this time it started in late December," he explained.

Somchai linked cool temperatures with the recent fog that has been covering the capital.

"There will be fog on and off like this for a while, very likely until the end of February," he said.

The meteorologist explained that when cool air meets warm or hot air, fog is formed if the high-pressure ridge is not strong enough. "The fog disappears when the cool and dry air mass chases away the humidity," he said, adding that fog formation and fog dispersal will take place every five or seven days until the temperatures rise.

Somchai dismissed any suggestion that the cool weather this month was a result of the La Nina phenomenon. "Perhaps it's a result of climate change, but it is not drastic," he said, adding that the fog was not bad enough to affect flights.