HeadLine News :  General News

Fish die, monkeys suffer, blankets distributed as cold weather envelops Thailand

BANGKOK, Jan 17 (TNA) - Small fish raised in a river in northeastern Thailand have died, monkeys in the South have lost interest in eating food, rice plants which are begun to bear fruits died prematurely as severe cold spell hit almost the entire country and temperatures fell in recent days.   In the northern province of Nan, the temperature in the heart of the city dropped to 7 degrees Celsius, and dropped to only 2 degrees atop the mountains.   Local residents and Buddhist monks at over five hundred temples are suffering from the cold spell, so that representatives of  the Interior Ministry's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department have distributed over 2,000 blankets to monks.   Rice seedlings planted in the lower northern province of Phitsanulok have begun to die due to the falling temperatures, leading officials to estimate at least 150,000 rai of rice crops will be lost if the temperature continues to decline.   In the southern province of Songkhla, the army offered more than 300 blankets to poor villagers. Cattle are refusing to eat and some 3,000 monkeys living on a mountain have become lethargic and refuse to eat.   Veterinarians in the northeastern province of Yasothon have warned poultry producers to build closed pens if the temperatures drop by another 3-5 degrees Celsius in order to keep the birds warm.  About 300,000 chickens will be slaughtered during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday beginning January 26.   The emergency response department has declared that 47 provinces nationwide, except in the South, as emergency areas and established a special centre in the regions to handle the unusual cold  and to work with its local offices to set up outreach centres to help residents in all areas affected by the cold.   The Meteorological Department has said the cold weather which moved over Thailand from China last weekend will continue to affect all regions until February. However, the temperatures will increase slightly beginning this weekend. (TNA)  General News : Last Update : 16:51:32 17 January 2009 (GMT+7:00)

Archives

• Thailand records low number of people receiving H1N1 shots  • No release request for Korean arms plane crew: Thai state prosecutor  • Health ministry: deaths unrelated to H1N1 vaccination of mothers  • Cobra Gold 2010 joint exercise kicks off in Thailand  • Thailand begins sending rice to quake-hit Haiti  •  Khattiya reports to police, to file complaint against defence minister, army chief  • Border hospitals seek financial aid from government