Thailand’s weather agency warns of old hoax about extreme weather circulating on social media

A message warning of “extreme weather change” that was purportedly issued by the Meteorological Department of Thailand has been shared in multiple posts on Facebook and Line. The claim is false; the Meteorological Department denied ever issuing the message and the agency’s forecast did not warn of extreme weather when the posts circulated. 

The claim was posted on Facebook here on January 14, 2021.

The Thai text reads in English as:

“Breaking news from the Meteorological Department

“There has never been a forecast like this before in the past 5 years

“** A cold wave will cover all regions in Thailand from 24:00 tonight onwards
“The North and Esan will face a [temperature] drop of 10-12 degrees celsius
“Bangkok 8-10 degrees celsius
“The most in…