PATTAYA, Thailand – A claim that temperatures in Pattaya plunged to 16°C has triggered a wave of skepticism — and sarcasm — from residents and tourists who say the city hasn’t been anywhere near that cold.
While official forecasts did warn of cooler winds and choppy seas this week, locals insist the numbers being thrown around on social media are wildly exaggerated. The reaction was swift: amusement, disbelief, and plenty of Pattaya-style commentary. Some residents said the actual temperature dipped only to around 23°C, which felt chilly by tropical standards but nowhere close to the winter-like 16°C being reported. “Twenty-three felt like minus two,” one commenter joked.
Others chimed in with even more blunt disbelief: “I’m sitting in the sun right now.” “No way 16 — I’m in Pattaya.” “Seriously? 16?”
A few noted that such temperatures have happened before, but rarely — often at dawn and only during unusually strong northern cold surges.
“Last year in January it hit 17°C at 6 a.m.,” a long-term resident recalled. “That was the coldest I’ve ever seen.”
But most agreed the current claims are misleading or simply outdated.
“Probably this should’ve been written a few days ago,” one commenter said. “Now the weather is just perfect.”
Some even embraced the cooler winds, comparing the mild chill to “Florida weather” and welcoming the break from Pattaya’s usual heat.
With clearer skies returning and beachgoers back under the sun, one thing is certain: Pattaya isn’t freezing — but the rumor mill definitely is heating up again.
