Thailand at risk of facing prolonged hot weather

A Thai academic has said if the Paris agreement on climate change is not enforced effectively, Southeast Asia could be hit harder by heat waves than other regions and Thailand can face extremely hot weather for up to 220 days a year in about 20 years.

Professor Seree Suparathit, Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Disasters at Rangsit University, said that if the goal set by UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) held in Paris in December 2015 is not reached, Southeast Asia, and especially Thailand, will pay a heavy price.

The COP21 resolved to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue ways to limit it to 1.5°C.

According to Assessment Report 5 (AR5) and Assessment Report 6 (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if the global temperature rises by 1.5°C, Thailand will be hit by heat waves for 20 to 30 days in the northern, upper and middle northeastern parts, and for 30 to 40 days in the central, lower northeast and eastern provinces.

If the global temperature rises 2°C, the number of extremely hot days would be 50-60 in the North, middle Northeast, and upper Northeast and 60-80 days in the Central, East and lower Northeast.

In the worst-case scenario – if the global temperature rises 4.5°C, heat waves could be experienced for 180-220 days in the North, middle and upper Northeast and 220-240 days in the Central, East and lower Northeast.

He said all countries must act now to implement the COP21 resolution