The Finance Ministry has been asked to ease aid distribution rules as the country grapples with a cold snap that saw temperatures plunge to around 8-15 degrees Celsius in the countryside.
Kanyanat Srijai, deputy mayor of tambon Ngim in Phayao's Pong district, said that under Finance Ministry current regulations, emergency funding can only be distributed when temperatures in a defined area drop below 8C for three consecutive days.
He filed a petition on behalf of the local administrative organisation, after minimum temperatures in tambon Ngim plunge over the weekend.
Their petition was accepted by Palang Pracharath Party's MP for Phayao, Bunsin Warinrak, who called on the Finance Ministry to consider easing the regulation, as cold snaps affect different terrains differently.
"Low-lying areas [in a district] may not be as affected as areas with higher elevations, where temperatures could drop to as low as 6C," he said.
According to Mr Bunsin, the Interior Ministry is currently drafting a report for the Finance Ministry, recommending it to raising the threshold to 15C.