While most parts of the country were experiencing searing heat in the past few weeks, temperatures suddenly dropped by 5–7C in the Northeast and 2–4C in other regions yesterday, according to the Meteorological Department.
In its Announcement No 8 released at 5pm yesterday, the department said temperatures will continue to drop today in the North, Central Plains, East, Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, sending unseasonal chills through large parts of the country.
The Northeast alone will experience a drop of 1–3C, the department said.
Forecasters expected further drops of 1–4C yesterday, in what the department considers an extreme weather condition rarely experienced at this time of year.
In its earlier Announcement No 7, the department said the reason behind the unusual temperature drops is high air pressure from China that has spread to cover upper Thailand.
The temperature drops were accompanied by a thunderstorm in some areas of the upper part of the country, while a powerful low pressure cell moving from Cambodia was expected to cause heavy rain in southern Thailand, it said.
Meanwhile, Bangkok is expected to experience strong winds and temperature drops of between 1 and 3 degrees with a thunderstorm covering 10% of the city in the next day or so.
This means the South will have to brace for more rainfall.