Chumphon

History

Chumphon volunteers fought invading Japanese during World War II. Chumphon became a rail hub for Imperial Japan. It was a station on the Southern Line and connected to the short-lived Kra Isthmus Railway.

Geography

Chumphon lies just inland from the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand. To the west are the northern hills of the Phuket Range, a subrange of the Tenasserim Hills. These hills reach 400 m in the area near Chumphon. There are also many smaller peaks in the area in the range of 100 m to 200 m high.

Climate

Chumphon has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am) just falling short of a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af). Temperatures are hot throughout the year. The period from December to April has relatively less rainfall than from May to November, when rainfall can be very heavy, particularly in October and November.

|Jan record high C = 34.8 |Feb record high C = 36.4 |Mar record high C = 38.0 |Apr record high C = 38.8 |May record high C = 39.8 |Jun record high C = 36.2 |Jul record high C = 35.4 |Aug record high C = 35.6 |Sep record high C = 35.6 |Oct record high C = 35.7 |Nov record high C = 34.5 |Dec record high C = 34.0 |year record high C = 39.8 |Jan record low C = 12.1 |Feb record low C = 14.4 |Mar record low C = 17.0 |Apr record low C = 21.8 |May record low C = 22.0 |Jun record low C = 22.2 |Jul record low C = 21.5 |Aug record low C = 22.1 |Sep record low C = 21.6 |Oct record low C = 18.8 |Nov record low C = 15.1 |Dec record low C = 12.2 |year record low C = 12.1 | Jan dew point C = 22.2 | Feb dew point C = 22.6 | Mar dew point C = 23.4 | Apr dew point C = 24.2 | May dew point C = 24.4 | Jun dew point C = 24.1 | Jul dew point C = 23.8 | Aug dew point C = 23.7 | Sep dew point C = 23.8 | Oct dew point C = 23.9 | Nov dew point C = 23.2 | Dec dew point C = 21.8 | year dew point C = 23.4 | access-date = 12 October 2023}}

Transport

• Bus: There is a small bus system within the city itself. Trains and buses run to and from Bangkok every day.

• Road: The main road through Chumphon is Thailand Highway 4, also known as Phetkasem Road, leading north to Bangkok, and south to Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang, Phatthalung, and the border with Malaysia near Sadao.

• Rail: The Chumphon railway station is on the Southern Line of the State Railway of Thailand. Trains also stop at Pathio railway station in Chumphon Province.

• Air: The city's airport, Chumphon Airport (IATA: CJM, ICAO: VTSE) is 30 km north in Pathio District. The airport has daily flights to Bangkok.

:Nok Air and Thai AirAsia operate multiple daily flights between Bangkok (Don Mueang, DMK) and Chumphon Airport. The airport is a hub and regional gateway providing connecting services to Chumphon city and high speed ferry services to the islands of the Gulf of Thailand including Ko Tao and Ko Samui.

Popular culture

• In the science fiction novel, The Chronoliths, Chumphon is the landing site of the first chronolith.

References

References

2. "รายงานสถิติจำนวนประชากรและบ้าน ประจำปี พ.ศ. 2561 ท้องถิ่นเทศบาลเมืองชุมพร".
3. [https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/24747385/the-kra-isthmus-railway Journal of Kyoto Seika University] No. 27, Part IX