Weather
“Hot to very hot” in the North and Northeast, thundershowers predicted

A thermal low still covers upper Thailand, while southerly and southeasterly winds prevail over the Northeast and the East regions. Thailand is now in the ‘shoulder’ season, between the dry season and wet season, which is set to kick in sometime in April. (Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai 5 day forecasts below)
Chiang Mai is poised for another week of scorchers, each day predicted to be over 40C.
“Hot conditions still prevail over most of upper Thailand and very hot weather is forecast for parts of the North, the Northeast and the Central regions,” according to the Thai Meteorological Department.
“Thundershowers and gusty winds are forecast for the Northeast and the East. People should beware of severe weather and keep off unsecured buildings and wilderness areas. Farmers should beware of crop damage.”
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours is as follows:
Northern region: Hot to very hot; temperature lows of 18-25℃ and highs of 38-41℃.
Northeastern region: Hot to very hot with thundershowers in some areas; lows of 22-26℃ and highs of 36-40℃.
Central region: Hot to very hot; temperature lows of 24-26℃, highs of 37-40℃.
Eastern region: Hot with thundershowers and gusty winds in 10% of the areas; lows of 25-28℃, highs of 33-38℃; waves a metre high.
Southern region (east coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10% of the areas; lows of 23-27℃, highs of 33-36 ℃; waves a metre high.
Southern region (west coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10% of the areas; lows of 24-26℃, highs of 35-38℃; waves a metre high, higher offshore.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Hot during the day; lows of 26-27℃, highs of 34-39℃.
Bangkok’s 5 day forecast…
Phuket’s 5 day forecast…
Chiang Mai‘s 5 day forecast (yikes!)…
SOURCE: The Nation | Weather.com
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Thai people hope Covid-19 vaccine will help end pandemic – survey

A Bangkok University poll indicates that around half of the Thai population are holding out hope that the Covid-19 vaccine will help end the pandemic. But the same respondents fear the vaccines’ side effects.
The poll was conducted on January 18-20 on 1,186 people nationwide, aged 18 and over. A bare majority, 50.1% say their jobs and incomes would be affected if the pandemic continues without the masses being inoculated. About 27% said the most worrisome effect of the continued pandemic would be getting infected by the virus. 15% said they would be most worried about travelling. The rest of respondents said the availability of necessities and food, expenses for protective gear, children’s education topped their lists of worries.
Asked if vaccines would help curb or end the pandemic in the country, 51.3% said they are moderately hopeful, with a smaller percentage, 32.8%, very hopeful, and almost 16% had little or no hope. When asked about their concerns surrounding vaccines, almost 40% chose side effects.
Almost 13% said they were concerned about new vaccines being needed to fight new Covid-19 variants, with the same amount worried they wouldn’t receive free vaccines. About 8% worried about receiving smuggled vaccines without the Food and Drugs Administration’s approval.
The biggest lessons Thais say they learned from the Covid-19 outbreak during the past year focused on the illegal entry of migrants – 40.2%. About 20% say they learned that hiding information could put other people at risk, while about 18% said recklessness on the part of some people could put the majority at risk.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Thai researcher details her Covid-19 vaccination experience

“General post-vaccination symptoms include a mild fever, headache, muscle pain and shivering.”
A Thai post-doctorate researcher at the University of Chicago is detailing her Covid-19 vaccination experience and offering insight into its effects. Siriruk Changrob has received 2 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but says just the vaccine won’t immunise people from getting Covid.
Siriruk says a person who is inoculated with the vaccine can still become infected and should continue to practice social distancing and wearing a mask until a herd immunity is developed by 60% of the population, or the virus dissipates. She says she received the first vaccine about 20 days ago and upon arriving for the 2nd dose, a nurse asked her about any side effects and whether she had tested positive for the virus in the past 90 days.
She says she didn’t feel anything until about 8 hours after the 2nd injection, when she started to feel feverish and some pain at the injection site. She noted that all her colleagues warned her that the 2nd injection would give her more painful symptoms.
The Pfizer vaccine requires 2 doses that must be administered at least 21 days apart. But Sriiruk warns that if you can’t get the 2nd injection within the recommended time frame, to hold off from the injection until the time frame can be followed. She also said that anyone who requires daily medication to treat other ailments should consult their doctor before being vaccinated, to ensure that the efficacy of the vaccine will not be affected by that medication.
She says the general post-vaccination symptoms include a “mild fever, headache, muscle pain and shivering”, positive signs that the body is developing an immunity. She warns that taking medication to prevent such symptoms as a fever, is not recommended as the vaccine only protects a person from developing symptoms, rather from being infected by the virus.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Thailand
More than a third of Thai tourism-related businesses closed down

A Tourism Authority of Thailand survey, conducted between January 10 – 12, indicates that more than a third of the country’s tourism-related businesses has already shut up shop and gone out of business. An enormous majority were begging for TAT and government assistance fearing that they are unable to hand on much longer.
1,884 tourism businesses in Thailand were surveyed about their situations and how they were coping with the long-term closure of the Thai borders and the local restrictions on travel.
The businesses were in the areas of accommodation, travel firms, restaurants, car and bike rentals and public transport businesses.
34.7% said they had already shut down or gone out of business.
That the TAT admit that more than a third of their front-line organisations have gone to the wall already is a big turn-around from the perennially optimistic tone and often cringe-worthy predictions. The TAT and the Thai Minister of Tourism and ports are now staring down the barrel of an industry, not only diminished, but changed forever after decades of stunning growth.
At the start of the week the Tourism and Sports Minister claimed that 10 million tourists would start arriving on Thailand’s shores from the middle of this year for the rest of 2021. Just 3 months ago he also predicted that domestic tourists would undertake some 10 million trips a month during the forthcoming high season (December to February).
With only hope to back up his speculative predictions, the Minister was hopeful the stimulus measures approved by Cabinet will boost tourism numbers and help off-set some of the economic devastation caused by the closure of Thailand’s international borders.
This week’s prediction was that tourists, foreign and local, would be spending 1.2 Trillion baht on the battered tourist industry during 2021. He failed to provide details about where these tourists would come from or where they would visit during their stays – stays that still have to begin with a 14 day mandatory quarantine.
The only good news is a further 65% of businesses that continue to struggle on, waiting to see how 2021 unfolds and the effect of the roll out of Covid-19 vaccines, that will allow countries to open borders and a greater level of travel freedoms once again.
The break out of a cluster of infections in the Samut Sakhon province, just south west of Bangkok, and now spread to the majority of other Thai provinces, on December 20, forced the government to restrict inter provincial travel. The not-quite-a-lockdown that followed severely dampened the travel plans of locals and foreigners inside Thailand over the traditional December/January holiday season. This week the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority loosened some of the earlier restrictions and allowed some formerly closed businesses to re-open.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
- Politics4 days ago
US Ambassador to Thailand quits after Biden inaugurated
- Bangkok4 days ago
13 Bangkok businesses allowed to reopen tomorrow
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)4 days ago
Pattaya hotels take food to the streets in bid to survive
- Pattaya4 days ago
Pattaya cleaning up its Walking Street act in time for Chinese New Year
- Air Pollution4 days ago
Air pollution in Bangkok expected to get worse due to “cold spell”
- Crime4 days ago
Banned politician says government silencing him by invoking Lese Majeste law
- World4 days ago
US President Biden reverses Trump’s policies on first day of presidency
- Economy4 days ago
210 billion baht stimulus confirmed for “Rao Chana”