Friday, March 12, 2010

Sky Watch Friday - 12 March 2010

swf.jpg

It has been so hot and hazy for the past month (well, there was a 2 day reprieve when a cold front came down from China). SE Asia is having one of the worst droughts since 1992 - a poor rainy season in 2009 combined with no rain in the northern parts. The Mekong river has been very low, which is starting to affect shipping, irrigation and household water supplies. Very scary.

This is what it looks like in the morning:

golden river

And mid-day

hot n hazy

The near side is Laos, the other side of the river is Srichieng Mai, Thailand.

The air quality is awful these days. I've been riding my bicycle to work and it really gets me coughing. I'm starting to wonder if exercise is healthy.

hot and hazy 2

And in the evening.

sunset crosshatch

I cheated on the last one. It was so grainy when I fooled with the exposure and contrast that I used the crosshatch setting in Photoshop.

Hopefully, it there is wireless where I'm staying, I'll be posting my next week's SWF from Kathmandu, Nepal!

This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

5 comments:

Rajesh said...

Very nice shots. Sunset is beautiful.

Kim said...

Wow, your shots really convey the feeling of heavy heat in the air. I liked each one for different reasons. I have a friend who grew up in a refugee camp along that river so this gives me a visual of her setting in childhood. When I was a child in Southern California some days the smog from car exhaust would look like this and they wouldn't let us play outside. We couldn't see the nearby mountains because of it. It was a dry heat, though and not humid as your photos show this to be. That has all changed with emission regulations and the skies down there stay fairly clear. I hope the water level goes up with the rainy season. And I also hope your trip to Kathmandu is wonderful!
-Kim

VioletSky said...

I can almost feel the heaviness of the air in these photos. Each view makes me want to slow down and measure my breath.

Lokking forward to seeing Kathmandu!

Catherine said...

a lovely sequence of shots..

Glennis said...

Lovely shots all misty and hot.
http://glennisnz.blogspot.com/