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What to expect in AUGUST 2005

Statistics

	Average temperature 26.6 C Average rainfall 236 mm Cloud cover 8.6/10 Humidity 81% % Rainy days 21.2 Sunshine 143 hrs.

If you like rain, you're gonna love Chiang Mai during the next couple of months. This is it, the heart of the monsoon, and on average about a third of all the year's rain falls in this month and September, with August just nosing out September as the wettest month of the year.

Though of course between what we expect and what we actually get … well, let's put it like this. The variation from one year to the next can be enormous. In August 1987 for example, 454 mm of rain fell, whereas five years earlier there'd been an all time low for the month of only 67 mm. All the same, the temperature average usually goes down fractionally in August, and humidity and cloud-cover are likely to be at their highest. On the other hand, when it's not raining and there's a sunny spell, the views can be breathtaking.

However, it's also a time to be a little cautious. Incidence of dengue fever (aka haemorrhagic fever), transmitted by day-time mosquitoes, is relatively high this year, both in the cities and outside: and malaria (from twilight-flying mozzies, mainly) also needs to be taken into account. You're highly unlikely to contract the latter down in the city, but up in the forested hills and particularly over towards the Burmese border you need to use mosquito repellent generously and sleep under a net at night. If you have any doubts about your condition, get a free blood check at the Vector Borne Disease Control Centre, Chiang Mai University Hospital, on the Suthep Road.

The other area where caution isn't a bad thing is driving. As elsewhere (or perhaps even more so), your biggest danger (if you're a good driver) is the other person. But surfaces are also hazardous. Down on the plain, even the sealed roads can develop interestingly deep holes in a short time, and they tend not to be repaired till the dry season. Out in the boonies, on the other hand, a route that provides a splendid dry season blast in an off-road vehicle or on a trail-bike, can quickly become impassable in the rainy months if you don't have winches, chains and all the other major expedition impedimenta. Anyway, if you're using wheels in August-September, think twice about your destination and err on the side of caution.