BURIRAM — A 75-year-old man has become the first reported fatality linked to the recent cold weather, after temperatures dropped to 18 degrees Celsius overnight, police said.
Officers from Ban Dan police station were notified at about 7:30 am on Jan. 2, 2026, that a villager had been found dead inside his home in Ban Pho Thong village, Ban Dan district. Police and local rescue workers went to investigate.
The victim, identified as Wa Chamram, 75, was found dead on a mattress in the middle of his single-storey concrete house. Police said there were no signs of assault, and he was believed to have died at least three hours before his body was discovered.
His wife, Jampii Cherngram, 69, told police the household consisted of herself, her husband and their 9-year-old grandson. She said her husband normally woke around 5 a.m. to light a fire outside the house to keep warm during cold weather.
When he did not wake as usual, she went to check on him and found him unresponsive, with his body already stiff. She said her husband had no underlying medical conditions and did not drink alcohol. She believed the sudden cold overnight, combined with sleeping in an open area of the house, may have caused him to go into shock.
A neighbour, Thongsuk Tansiaidee, 67, said the man had visited him the previous evening to compare fighting cockerels and appeared normal at the time. He also believed the cold weather was a contributing factor.
Police said the cause of death would be further examined, but relatives did not suspect foul play. The body was released to the family for funeral rites according to local tradition.
Temperatures in Ban Dan district dropped to around 18 degrees Celsius overnight as a cold air mass continued to affect parts of northeastern Thailand.
