Everyone complaining about the heat

Even my long-time expat friends -- three in a row today -- describe this week's weather as being miserable. Most mention the humidity but of course the Thai say simply "hot" -- and give you a blank smile when you say "humid"!

Objectively, I must be scientific and measure the wet bulb temperature, which I do by using the wet rag technique. It hovers around 28 C, even as my condo interior surfaces and floor are 30-31 and the afternoon temperatures outside hover around 37.

A strong fan and minimal clothing make 30 C in my condo perfectly comfortable during the day, but we use the bedroom air conditioning, set to 24-25 C, for sleeping. This doubles my electrical bill from about $35 to $70 per month. A dollar a day for comfortable sleeping. A fan works for the Thai but doesn't do the job for us because of our higher body mass index and soft foreign bed that impedes heat transfer from the body and leads to the dreaded wet pillow syndrome.

Late mornings are the worst in May, a bit of a breeze makes it more tolerable in the afternoon. My luxo Japanese-style massage place, normally overbooked, is oddly empty today; I'm told that the heat is just keeping those rich customers at home

Everyone complaining about the heat

Even my long-time expat friends -- three in a row today -- describe this week's weather as being miserable. Most mention the humidity but of course the Thai say simply "hot" -- and give you a blank smile when you say "humid"!

Objectively, I must be scientific and measure the wet bulb temperature, which I do by using the wet rag technique. It hovers around 28 C, even as my condo interior surfaces and floor are 30-31 and the afternoon temperatures outside hover around 37.

A strong fan and minimal clothing make 30 C in my condo perfectly comfortable during the day, but we use the bedroom air conditioning, set to 24-25 C, for sleeping. This doubles my electrical bill from about $35 to $70 per month. A dollar a day for comfortable sleeping. A fan works for the Thai but doesn't do the job for us because of our higher body mass index and soft foreign bed that impedes heat transfer from the body and leads to the dreaded wet pillow syndrome.

Late mornings are the worst in May, a bit of a breeze makes it more tolerable in the afternoon. My luxo Japanese-style massage place, normally overbooked, is oddly empty today; I'm told that the heat is just keeping those rich customers at home

Saved by a shift in wind

Though temperature hit a moderate high 38 at Don Muang today, the wind shift from off the humid gulf to the south to the drier western uplands, bringing dry air relief (lower humidity)  by noon. Good day for drying laundry.

Saved by a shift in wind

Though temperature hit a moderate high 38 at Don Muang today, the wind shift from off the humid gulf to the south to the drier western uplands, bringing dry air relief (lower humidity)  by noon. Good day for drying laundry.

2015 a moderate hot season so far

Notwithstanding some excited tourist twitters on the subject, I fail to find anything special about hot season heat this year. In fact early rains have tended to moderate heat buildup. If SE Asia is being threatened by global warming, it is not showing up in Bangkok temperatures.

Red is temp at Don Muang, green is dew point. Temps are topping out at about 35 C. So far, anyway.

2015 a moderate hot season so far

Notwithstanding some excited tourist twitters on the subject, I fail to find anything special about hot season heat this year. In fact early rains have tended to moderate heat buildup. If SE Asia is being threatened by global warming, it is not showing up in Bangkok temperatures.

Red is temp at Don Muang, green is dew point. Temps are topping out at about 35 C. So far, anyway.

A wet pillow last night

This is my idea of the time to turn on an air conditioner, when you begin to sweat into your pillow in the middle of the night. Turns out the room temperature was 30 degrees (86 F), dew point 25, "wet rag" temp 27. This exceeds the limit for sub-sweating body temperature equilibrium when lying on a western-style mattress. (see free sample chapter for more on this).

A skinny Thai sleeping on a bamboo mat will be able to put up with more.