Northern Thailand News
Stay updated with the latest Northern Thailand news at The Thaiger, your ultimate source for regional information. Keep informed on local events, business developments, and lifestyle stories in popular locations like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Pai.
Our in-depth coverage includes famous monuments such as the White Temple and Doi Suthep. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, The Thaiger’s Northern Thailand news page is your essential guide to exploring this culturally rich region. Delve into the vibrant community and diverse culture with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you connected and well-informed.
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Sponsored Why is Bangkok's air quality so bad?
Imagine waking up early in Bangkok and you see all the beautiful morning fog from your balcony, but as you sip your coffee you realise it's just Bangkok's air pollution that's making the sun rise aesthetic. Ranked as the 36th...
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300,000 methamphetamine pills found in Chiang Rai after smugglers flee
Around 5.30pm yesterday, 31 troops under the direction of Police Colonel Ratana Phatthanasophon, Division 31, were investigating the smuggling of drugs through the Thai-Myanmar border into Mae Fah Luang District, Chiang Rai Province. 5-6 people were reported walking around the area where the authorities were undergoing routine patrols in the surrounding area. Officials asked the “suspicious men” to stop. But…
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2 drunk monks arrested in north east
A case of Bud Enlightenment? 2 Buddhist monks were arrested in their pickup truck in the early hours yesterday morning in the lower northeastern province of Sisaket. They have been charged with breaking the national curfew and drunk driving. The two were detained in their pickup truck shortly after midnight in the province’s Muang, or city district. Police say both…
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Summer storms forecast around the Kingdom today
The Thai Meteorological Department has issued a warning about possible tropical storms that will affect four regions around Thailand. The country is currently in the shoulder season between the hot season and the coming wet season. “The rather strong high-pressure system covers the Northeast, the East, the Central, the North and the South China Sea while hot conditions are likely…
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Buriram police officer injured as knife-wielding man has meltdown
A former convict went into meltdown yesterday, screaming and brandishing a knife as he made his way around an apartment building Buriram, north-eastern Thailand. Thai Residents reports that the building’s residents alerted police when they spotted a clearly deranged man screaming and swinging a knife like a samurai sword. Police officers arrived and discovered the man wandering around on the second…
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68 year old dies from heat trauma in Uttaradit
A 68 year old man has allegedly died from heat trauma in Uttaradit (northern Thailand), as a local news source reports that he died from shock and has been dead for 3 days. A collector for funeral expenses was the first person to arrive at the scene. He says he noticed a foul smell coming from the man’s house so he…
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11 soldiers being investigated after allegedly torturing and killing one brother, injuring the other
Police officers in Nakhon Phanom (northeastern Thailand bordering Laos) are investigation a parent’s complaint filed on Sunday that two of her sons were taken away by soldiers leading to the death of one and the other being seriously injured. 11 soldiers are now under investigation over the incident. The complaint was made by 59 year old Niwat Saisa and his…
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Plans to renew northern forests destroyed in recent fires
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, along with The Royal Forest Department says they have conducted plans to revive the northern forests which have been destroyed by this year’s burning season and other forest fires. But some good news, the Royal Forest Department says the number of hotspots detected in the North has fallen to 28. The fewer hotspots,…
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Biggest fire in 40 years at Mae Hong Son provincial city centre – VIDEO
At around 2.30am today a fire broke out leading to the destruction of an iconic building at the centre of Mae Hong Son province (northern Thailand), including the house of a Phalang Pracharat Party member of Parliament (MP). The blaze started at the Crossroad bar, a 70 year old building made of wood and located in the city centre near…
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Lampang’s horses, and their caretakers, doing it tough
2020 has been a bleak year for horses and their owners in northern Thailand. Horses and their and caretakers in Lampang province are now starving. Travel restrictions due to the national state of emergency and the Covid-19 crisis mean no income for the owners, and no grass or hay for the horses to feed on. A local rescue team presented…
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Mobile blood driver deployed in Khon Kaen
“Families that have 3 or more people who are willing to donate blood, authorities will be sending mobile units that will visit homes in the main city area of Khon Kaen province today.” This from Dr Sujira Kwasaen, director of The Khon Kaen Regional Health Promotion Centre 7. The Khon Kaen Regional Health Promotion Centre 7 is working with The…
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4 teenagers violate the order not to celebrate Songkran outside
Under the emergency decree that has been announced by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, it has been confirmed that Songkran (the traditional Thai new year festival) is officially postponed this year to lessen the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, 4 teenagers defying the emergency decree was arrested in Roi Et province, far north-eastern Thailand, after live broadcasting their water wars. The…
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Chiang Mai hiking spots go up in flames
Wildfires in Thailand’s north have made plenty of news in recent months, and now, Chiang Mai’s Doi Mon Jong mountain, one of northern Thailand’s most popular hiking spots has become the latest victim. Doi Mon Jong, in the province’s Om Koi District, is considered a legendary “unseen” destination for its breathtaking views, beauty and nature. Nearly 20 rai (3.2 hectares)…
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North still choked with dangerous smog
Chiang Mai takes the number one spot for air pollution yet again today, as a thick shroud of smog blankets huge areas of the province. Thailand’s Pollution Control Department reported today that dangerously thick smog covered the upper northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son. A red alert signifying severe air pollution was posted for the…
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Burmese pair arrested at border for smuggling 16.5 million baht
Police in the Tak province, northern Thailand, yesterday arrested two Burmese nationals for trying to smuggle 16.5 million baht in cash into Thailand. Authorities say the two, identified as 29 year old Ded Paioou, and a 24 year old woman called “Namitu” were arrested in tambon Tha Sai Luad, following a tip-off. Officers say the pair were driving a pickup…
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Grand opening of Nakhon Ratchasima war room
In a joint effort with locals, government, the private sector and Former Deputy prime minister Suwat Liptapanlop, Nakhon Ratchasima has officially announced the opening of a “War Room”. The purpose of the situation room is to combat the deadly disease and to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus locally in the province. The centre is also producing free cloth…
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Village headman fires 8 bullets into an officer at a check point in northern Thailand
A ‘Phu Yai Barn’ or village headman in Phayao province, just south of Chiang Rai, got into a row with other local officials last night, allegedly ending in a shootout, seriously injuring a local official at a checkpoint. Last night at 8pm local police were informed of the shooting incident at Ban Na Nun Community Checkpoint Village No 2. They…
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Summer storm warning for 55 of Thailand’s 76 provinces
Today Thailand’s Meteorological Department warned people in 55 northern, north-eastern, central and eastern provinces to prepare for possible “strong winds and hail from summer storms”, that are expected through until Sunday. This time of the year is also know as the bridging season between the annual dry and wet seasons. Weather can be unsettled in parts of thailand during this…
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More than 100 horses dead as African Horse Sickness strikes Thailand
“This disease has just occurred in Thailand. We’ve never had it in the past” The director-general of the Department of Livestock Development, Sorawit Thanito, says more than 100 horses in Thailand have died from African Horse Sickness (AHS). It’s the country’s first instance of the illness, which only affects animals. Latest government data show at least 131 horses have died…
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Tiger kills, eats man in Nakhon Ratchasima
A tiger has killed and partially eaten a man in Thap Lan National Park in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Local villagers have been warned not to enter the park after a man was mauled to death. 46 year old Jamras Phumwaengkuang was in the forest with two friends searching for plants and herbs when he reportedly split from…
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Northern Thailand’s air pollution reaches hazardous levels
Air quality in the north of Thailand is actually ‘hazardous’ today, as bushfires in Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep-Pui National Park have caused air quality to become nearly 20 times higher than Thailand’s already lax “safe” limit of ’50’. PM2.5, (dust particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 microns or lower), rose to 925 micrograms per cubic metre in some locations yesterday.…
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30 horses die in one day in Thailand’s Northeast
30 horses have mysteriously died in Thailand’s Northeast yesterday. The Thailand Equestrian Federation is urging horse fanciers not to transport any animals until a cause can be identified. It’s unlikely the situation has anything to do with the Covid-19 outbreak. 10 of the horses had sudden severe seizures before dying and the other 20 repeatedly bucked and jumped before collapsing,…
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1000 kilograms of marijuana seized in northeastern Thailand
More than a tonne of marijuana has been been recovered in Thailand’s Bung Kan province, in the far north east on the Laos border. The stash was discovered in fertiliser sacks by a security patrol boat along the Mekong river. Authorities say a longtail boat with 4 to 5 men on board was spotted pulling up to the river bank,…
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Riot fears reopen ‘closed’ Thai border checkpoints as migrant workers flee
“We must go home, or we will starve to death in Bangkok.” Some of Thailand’s recently closed border checkpoints were forced to reopen today as thousands of migrant workers, now unemployed due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, flee Thailand for their homes in Myanmar and Cambodia. Their numbers and their desperation sparked fears of rioting. In Chiang Rai, the border…
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196 kilos of ganja found at north eastern Thai boarder
Local officials have seized 196 kilograms of compressed marijuana from the Mekong riverbank in Wan Yai district, Mukdahan, north east Thailand. Residents in tambon Pong Kham reported to the local authorities and Wan Yai district chief Pitinat Nithisthani, after seeing seven mysterious black plastic bags on the bank of the Mekong River near Ban Song Khon. The district chief, accompanied…
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Khon Kaen University students in anti-government demonstration
“We are afraid of the virus. But, we are also duty-bound to study and seek the government’s ouster.” Adding to a growing trend, students at Khon Khaen University in northeastern Thailand held a second demonstration last night, despite fears of the Covid-19 coronavirus spread, saying they’ve “had enough” of the government. Students from all departments gathered at the multi-purpose ground…
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Soldiers sent to fight forest fires in the North
With Chiang Mai again declared the world’s most polluted city today, and with air quality worsening across northern Thailand, soldiers from Royal Thai Army 3rd Army Region have been deployed to detect and fight forest fires. Forest fires and agricultural burning, both in Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia, have created extremely poor air quality levels. Rangers from the 35th Scout Regiment…
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Body in oil drum discovered in Chiang Rai reservoir
Police in Chiang Rai discovered a dead body stuffed into an oil drum floating in a reservoir. The 200 litre drum has allegedly been floating in the reservoir for over a week. Investigators learned from local villagers that the oil drum had been floating in the middle of the reservoir since last about March 3. Only when the drum brought…
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Police intercept huge meth shipment and a tonne of marijuana
The Narcotics Suppression Bureau have reported a number of cases in the Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. Both dugs cases involve a truck and an attempt to hide the illicit drugs in large sacks which were packed with dog food. In the first case, 38 year old Jiradech Isipriya from Chiang Mai as well as 3 other members of a…
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Cop in solitary for videos mocking PM
A policeman in Isan, in Thailand’s northeast, is today in solitary confinement for posting video parodies of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Police say the officer, who works in Amnat Charoen province, will be jailed for three days for his mockery of the PM. “We asked him and he said he did it for fun. He felt guilty. Since he is…
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Drunken woman, legally dead, uses calling card to make 50 emergency calls in a day
Police in northern Thailand’s Loei province were notified that someone using a calling card had been calling 191 all day. The police went to inspect a location whre they found a drunk woman, identified as 51 year old “Mrs. Waruni.” She had no home address and was using her calling card to call 191, the emergency hotline of the Royal…
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