One night earlier this week at 9 PM a Thai woman (wearing a cotton nightgown and viewing a Thai soap opera on her ipad in bed) turned on the table fan in the bedroom, for the first time in weeks following a winter cold snap with temps often below 20 C (68 F). She had aircon available but did not choose this option, preferring the fan. The temperature at this signal event was 26 C (79 F) and humidity 60%.
Research in Thailand done several years ago determined that this is exactly the temperature where Thai people prefer at least a little stir of air movement; in general studies have found that locals, both men and women, like air velocities between .5 and 1 m/s when the temperature moves much above 26 C (79 F). These breezy levels of air movement have traditionally been consigned to the word "drafts" in Western culture.
Words do more than convey information; they transform it, sometimes in surprising ways. Sati ("mindfulness") becomes sloth. Kit mahk ("thinking a lot") becomes depression. When as I often do, say in Thai to a taxi driver it is cool today, I mean pleasantly so. He will reply with an agreeable shiver, taking my expression of satisfaction as an expression of disatisfaction.
But not a complaint. Or, O my Buddha, not an opinion. For more on why elders should not hold opinions, read the sample of my forthcoming book which you can download for free by clicking to the right.
The cool weather continues, average daily temps at Don Muang are about 21-22 degrees C. I've been feeling cold at 26 C (79 F) degrees room interior temp for three days now.
Is my perception abnormal?
I checked by the wonderful ASHRAE thermal comfort calculator at CBE Berkeley this morning and entered my conditions: boxer shorts (clo=.18), relaxed (met=.8), no fan.
Here in this psychometric chart (much more on this important tool later) my environment (blue dot) is much cooler than the yellow comfort zone, the temperature would have to be in the low nineties for me to be happy, according to ASHRAE standards. Conversely, we can say that most people dressed as lightly as I am, will be most comfortable with the temp around 95 F, or 35 C.
This graphic shows the average daily temp at Don Muang since 1951 (top to bottom). Courtesy of the Thai Meteorology Department.
Values to left are dips in temp, values to right are hot days. The year markers (white horizontal lines) are set to Songram which as expected is close to the hottest day of the year.
For larger size of this graphic click on "20,000 days in Bangkok" in right sidebar.
I have several ideas about this record.
1. Bangkok weather is more variable annually than I once expected. Perhaps this is true of Thai people too.
2. There is a very sight rising trend to temps at DM, maybe a degree over the whole sixty three year period. Urban heat island effect (heat-gathering effect of urban development) is certainly part of the reason for this, perhaps the full reason. Hence significant global warming is not apparent in this record.
3. Some apparent changes can probably be explained by the re-siting of the measurement point or changes in immediate surroundings including construction.
4. The small gap at the bottom is due to absence of records during 2011 flooding. The record stops mid 2013, I will add more later.
A little background here. When I came back to live in Thailand fifteen years ago, I decided to do what Jim Thompson had done in the 1940s, move an old Thai house too Bangkok. This short video tells the story.
A little background here. When I came back to live in Thailand fifteen years ago, I decided to do what Jim Thompson had done in the 1940s, move an old Thai house too Bangkok. This short video tells the story.
Wandering mid day through the sparkling Srinakharinwirot University which seems as luxurious as Stanford. What happened to the Third World? Hard to believe people are protesting about anything. And Bangkok heat: where did that go? Most beautiful day I can recall in fifty years here, low 70's all day. Thank you China for your air.
Up before rosy fingered dawn this morning, air temp a fine cool 20 degrees here in downtown Bangkok and the same at Don Muang. The radiant temp of the sky is -7 C. Yes, that's below freezing! from the seventh floor I scan the city below with my thermal gun, temp is 18 C, knocked down by the cold sky. Photos last night show protesters bedding down at Asoke intersection, beneath the skytrain. A smart move, warmer without the cold overhead sky, that same sky that used so long ago to frost the pumpkin. Back in my New England childhood.
