The severe cold spell in upper Thailand and stormy seas in the South are nearing an end, after having a widespread and severe impact, as the air stream from China weakens, the weather office said on Tuesday.
Temperatures generally should rise 2-4°C overnight, except in the North, and the wind and waves in the Gulf of Thailand should ease from Wednesday, Wanchai Sak-udomchai, director-general of the Meteorological Department, said.
Waves would be 2-3 metres high in the Gulf. Boats should be operated cautiously and small boats should remain ashore for another day in Surat Thani and provinces farther south, he said.
Temperatures plummeted overnight in the North, reaching the lowest levels this year. It was 0°C in Phetchabun on Tuesday morning with frosts, 2°C in Phitsanulok, 4°C in Lampang, 6°C in Khon Kaen, 7°C in Nakhon Phanom, and 9°C in Phayao and Surin. Another chilly night was forecast, but the worst should be over.
The cold has raised strawberry crop yields and cow's milk output in Khon Kaen, but seriously cut back the rice-straw mushroom harvest in Nakhon Phanom.
Chatchai Phromlert, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said on Tuesday the huge monsoon generated waves in the Gulf of Thailand had pounded 16 districts in five southern provinces -- Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Songkhla. They damaged coastal roads, buildings and farmland as well as fishing boats and cargo boats.