Thailand

Modelling temperature and precipitation changes in lowland Thailand

Host institution

National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)

Grant year

2023

Project summary

As with other tropical countries, Thailand is vulnerable to the irreversible impacts of climate change, such as temperature rise, precipitation changes, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion. Dr Pornampai Narenpitak, from Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency, will lead a team to assess whether stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) could reduce those risks in the country. While prior studies have shown SAI could lower surface temperatures in Thailand, it could also reduce precipitation levels. This study will compare temperature and precipitation changes under a range of scenarios. It will also include changes in precipitation patterns and seasonal variability – key factors for the agricultural sector and water management. Furthermore, it will examine changes in the sea level, which are closely tied to coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion – pressing problems, especially in the Chao Phraya River watershed and Thailand’s capital city.

The team

National Science and Technology Development Agency
Pornampai (Ping-Ping) Narenpitak is an atmospheric scientist based in Thailand. She has a PhD from the University of Washington, USA, where she studied cloud-climate feedbacks, shallow cumulus, stratocumulus clouds, and tropical cyclones using high-resolution simulations. This developed her research interest in solar radiation management (SRM). During her post-doctoral training in 2020-2021, she participated in the ATOMIC/EUREC4A joint field campaigns, an international collaboration that studied wintertime shallow cumulus clouds in the Atlantic Ocean. Based in Thailand since 2022, her research continues to be focused on clouds, and related topics such as tropical precipitation, air pollution, and the regional impacts of SRM.
dmf researcher siriwat kongkulsiri profile photo
National Science and Technology Development Agency
Mr. Siriwat Kongkulsiri is a research associate at the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) in Thailand. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computational Science from Walailuk University. Through his research, he has participated in developing a hydrological and estuary prediction system for Thailand.
National Science and Technology Development Agency
Sirod Sirisup holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University, USA. He joined the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) in Thailand in 2005 as a researcher, and has been a principal researcher since 2018. He has extensive experience in simulation-based engineering and science. During his career at NECTEC, he has conducted high-quality, multidisciplinary research in fields including coastal oceanography, estuary and hydrology. His main research interests include the development of estuary/coastal oceanographic, climate applications and prediction systems.
National Science and Technology Development Agency
Saifhon Tomkratoke is a researcher at the NSTDA in Thailand. His research background includes hydrodynamic simulation-prediction and flow modelling in environmental systems and watersheds. His current research interests also include the hydro-climatic variabilities in Thailand and the Indo-China Peninsula. He holds a BSc in environmental sciences and has also completed an MSc degree.

Photo credits

Banner: Thailand flooding, Chao Phraya RiverNASA Terra spacecraft (2011) Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

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