A NOTE ABOUT THE WEATHER IN CHIANG MAI

                                                            November 20th, 2024

     Like everywhere else in the world it certainly is hotter here than it used to be, and we're doing as much as we can to prepare for that. We have not only installed high pressure water sprays around all our open dining and social areas, we have built a beautiful new Training Sala called  Baan Rom Yen -- that means 'Cool House' in Thai, with all the same special feelings the word 'cool' has in English. In addition to air-conditioning, Baan Rom Yen has an air-purifying system that brings in fresh air from the outside, so the inside 'conditioned' air never grows stale.

 

      Here is some background on the Heat and Smoke in Chiang Mai. 

     The Dry Season in Thailand begins in November, and ushers in  the best weather of the year. It doesn't rain a drop for 4 months, but not surprisingly the last 2 months, March and April, are often the hottest of the year.

     But we have two advantages over the local weather reports. The first is that we are 9 kms outside the city in what is still an agricultural area that uses lots of water for irrigation. The humidity not only brings down the temperature but also purifies the air.

     Another important factor in our favor is that there is no heavy industry in the North of Thailand. The people are largely farmers, and they are the ones who make the smoke  as they traditionally  burn the rice paddies after the harvest in February and March. In addition, the Hill Tribe people  burn parts of the forest to prepare new areas for cultivation, an ancient practice called 'slash-and-burn agriculture.' The smoke and dust in March and April is a  problem, but it's not the perennial 'smog' that hangs over most of the urban and industrial centers in more developed parts of the world.

     Burning anything in public is now illegal in Thailand. On the other hand, the farmers have always used burning to improve the fertility of the soil, and neither the rice farmers nor the Hill Tribe people are convinced that the authorities know the soil better than they do -- which is very much an unresolved issue.

     The Rainy or Monsoon Season is from May to the end of October, and begins with short but fierce thunder storms. Almost over night the whole South-East-Asian weather system changes from a hot 'Northerly' flow of air passing over the great deserts of Mongolia and China to a 'Southerly' ('Monsoon') flow full of water drawn up from the Indian ocean. Though intense, the rain bursts are short, just for 20 minutes or so, after which the sun comes out again – big, white and very clean clouds with the sun shining strongly between them. Beautiful.

     Flooding does sometimes happen toward the end of the season, but it has never before overwhelmed Baan Hom Samunphrai. In October this year the water in the Ping River reached the highest level ever recorded -- the water went right over the top of the new flood retaining wall we had just built a year ago. Had we been 6 inches higher we would have stayed dry!

     My sincere feeling is that this is unlikely to happen again, that is that another freak Typhoon will arrive on top of a whole series of unrelated lows of an intensity and duration the region had never experienced before. Yes, we take note -- and yes, we will be raising our flood wall substantially, and making other significant modifications too. We'll be ready.

     Chiang Mai will also be completing  the last major concrete dyke on the lower Ping  River this winter -- which is precisely the weak point from which the flood waters overwhelmed us this year! With that job done (just 300 metres to go!!!) our District will be able to handle anything the Weatherman can come up with!    

    Our own priorities are simple. We do not have air-conditioning in our bedrooms, but the ventilation is very good and there are overhead fans. Our rooms are in old unpainted teak houses with lots of windows with shutters, white cotton curtains and screens -- but no glass! They're beautiful and healthy and most people love them – and we sleep very well.

    We hope you will come and see what it's like here sometime soon, and hope that you will agree with us that where we live is as near to a perfect environment as human beings deserve!
                                                                              C. & H.