"summer"

WINTHROP, Wash. - On the worst days, and there have been many, one can see nothing but white - a hot, suffocating fog bank that smells of burning wood and blots out the sun. Hours tick by in a disorienting haze to the whir of air purifiers and box fans. Doors stay sealed, stores are closed and the normal summer bustle in this bucolic mountain town is snuffed out.

Maria Van Kerkhove, a World Health Organization epidemiologist, was in her Geneva office last weekend preparing for a keynote address when a simple phrase came to mind.

Record-high temperatures from Canada to Scandinavia and intense wildfires flaring up from California to Russias Far East are adding to extreme weather events recorded at the start of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

The only way to survive Thailand’s sweltering heat is to either crank up the air-conditioner or have fans at full speed.

With temperatures predicted to hit 40 degrees Celsius this summer, here is some advice on protecting yourself from heatstroke.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has told relevant agencies to monitor summer storms from March 2-4 after the Thailand Meteorological Department notified on Saturday that summer had arrived.

A summer storm is heading towards upper Thailand from March 1 to 4, the Thailand

The Thai Meteorological Department forecast an outbreak of summer storm, as well as gusty winds in the Northeast and the East. Hail and gusty winds are also forecast.

With the Fourth of July just around the corner and many states and communities relaxing coronavirus restrictions, the warm sunny weather beckons. But infectious-disease experts warn that the virus remains a threat as we return to travel, swimming, barbecues, ice cream shops and restaurants.

The Interior Ministry’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has mobilised various agencies to provide residents in seven provinces much-needed assistance including roof tiles and materials to repair damaged houses after thunderstorms and gusty winds wreaked havoc.

Heat stroke is another health hazard about which people should be cautious during the summer besides the Covid-19 threat, Surachai Chokkhanchitchai, Uthaithani Hospital’s director, warned.

Jaturong Suriyassin, deputy director-general and spokesman of Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), has assured customers who queried recent rises in their power bills that any recent increases were not due to adjustments in electricity fees.