Global warming to drive winters out of Bangkok
www.chinaview.cn 2006-11-30 19:27:23
BANGKOK, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Bangkok would have little chance of experiencing a cool season in the next four decades as the capital's temperature continues to rise due to an "urban heat island" and global warming, experts said.
According to Jariya Boonjawat, an environmentalist at the Southeast Asia START Regional Center, an environmental research organization, Bangkok, like other big cities, is experiencing an "urban heat island," a phenomenon which sees temperatures in cities rise more than in the countryside, newspaper Bangkok Post on Thursday reported.
Buildings, concrete and asphalt roads, as well as human and industrial activities in urban areas, were all factors contributing to high temperatures in cities, she told a conference on Thailand's and the global climate.
"We have studied the urban heat island in Thailand and found that the temperature in the capital is five C higher than in rural areas. The result is in line with big cities around the world, like Tokyo," said the expert, who has conducted extensive research on the climate and its impacts on urban areas.
"With the warming trend increasing, we can say that Bangkok will have less chance of experiencing a cool season in the next 40 years," the expert said.
Four decades ago, the average temperature during Bangkok's cool season was below 15 C, according to Jariya, but the minimum temperature has gradually increased to 20 C now.
Suppakorn Chinvanno, the project coordinator of the Bangkok-based center, said that with rising temperatures the dry season in the country would in the future be longer than six months. More rainfall could be expected in the northeastern and eastern regions, he added.
Other provinces out of Bangkok would also experience shorter spells of cool weather over the long run, the experts said.
People living in northern province Chiang Rai would have shorter cool seasons, from 126 days now to only 90 days in the future, while those in another northern province of Tak would have only 18 days of cold weather from 97 days now. Residents of central province Kanchanaburi would have 40 days in their cold season, from 73 days currently.
The Meteorological Department forecasts that Bangkok's minimum temperature will be in the range of 24 C to 26 C from now until early in December. The temperature will drop about one degree next year when the country is in the middle of the cool season, it says.
Editor: Gao Ying
