Samut Sakhon (Thai: สมุทรสาคร, pronounced[sā.mùtsǎː.kʰɔ̄ːn]) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand, located along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. In 2019, it had a population of 584,703,[5] and an area of 872 km²,[6] making it the 33rd most populated province whilst being the 4th smallest. Neighboring provinces are (from the southwest clockwise) Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom, and Bangkok. Samut Sakhon is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.
Toponymy
The word samut originates from the Sanskrit word samudra meaning 'ocean', and the word sakhon from Sanskrit sagara meaning 'lake'.
Geography
Samut Sakhon is at the mouth of the Tha Chin River, a distributary of the Chao Phraya River, to the Gulf of Thailand. At the coast are many salt pans used for harvesting sea salt.[6] The total forest area is 42 km2 (16 sq mi) or 4.9 percent of provincial area.[5]
Climate
Samut Sakhon province has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification category Aw). Winters are dry and warm. Temperatures rise until May. The monsoon season runs from May through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm. Climatological data for the period 1981–2010: Maximum temperature is 39.7 °C (103.5 °F) in April and May and the lowest temperature is 12.0 °C (53.6 °F) in December. The highest average temperature is 35.4 °C (95.7 °F) in April and the minimum average temperature is 22.0 °C (71.6 °F) in December. Mean annual rainfall is 1648 millimeters. The maximum daily rainfall is 248 millimeters in May. Mean rainy days average 130 days per year.[7]
History
The oldest name of the area is Tha Chin ('Chinese pier'), probably referring to the fact that it was a trading port where Chinese junks arrived.[8] In 1548 the city Sakhon Buri was established, and was renamed Mahachai in 1704 after the Khlong Mahachai which was dug then and connected with the Tha Chin River near the town. King Mongkut gave it its current name, but the old name Mahachai is still sometimes used by locals.[9]
Formerly an agricultural- and fisheries-based province, Samut Sakhon in 2020 has more than 6,000 factories, most of them small, employing fewer than 50 workers, and too small to warrant much attention from Thailand's Pollution Control Department (PCD). Small firms lack the budgets to install the environmental gear that would help protect the environment. As a result, Samut Sakhon is one of the most polluted provinces in the nation.[11]
Soil and water samples from the industrial area of Mueang District were found to be contaminated with high levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, zinc, copper, and nickel. High levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPS), byproducts of industrial processes, were present in eggs from free-range chickens. An egg tested by researchers was found to have 84 nanograms per kilogram of dioxins and furans, a level 33 times higher than the safety limit observed by the European Union.[11]
The most polluted air in Thailand in 2018 was found to be in Samut Sakhon province.[12] According to the PCD, the level of PM2.5 in the provincial atmosphere in 2019 was unusually high, measuring as high as 195 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3). During the air pollution "season" of 2018–2019, PM2.5 levels exceeded the PCD's safe threshold of 50 μg/m3 for 41 days.[11]
Samut Sakhon is a leading sea salt producer. According to a survey in 2011, 12,572 rai of salt pans were managed by 242 families in Samut Sakhon.[13]
The provincial seal shows a Chinese junk in front of the coast, with a factory and a smoking chimney in the background. Both refer to the old trading tradition as well as the local industries.
The provincial flag is horizontally divided pink/light blue/pink (1:3:1) the provincial seal in the middle.
The provincial brand is a picture of a white factory, a fishing boat, a fish and blue water and a green leaf.
The provincial aquatic animal is the short mackerel (Rastrelliger brachysoma) what with Samut Sakhon is the first province to have short mackerel fishing boat and has the largest amount of this species of fish caught in Thailand.
The provincial slogan is "Fishing city, factory town, agricultural ground, historic site".[14]
Administrative divisions
Map of Samut Sakhon province with districts
City municipalities (thesaban nakhon)
Town municipalities (thesaban mueang)
Subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon)
Provincial government
The province is divided into three districts (amphoes). The districts are further subdivided into 40 subdistricts (tambons) and 290 villages (mubans).[15]
As of 19 December 2019 there are: one Samut Sakhon Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and fifteen municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. The capital Samut Sakhon and Om Noi have city (thesaban nakhon) status. Two have town (thesaban mueang) status and eleven are subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon).[2]
Province Samut Sakhon, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6101 is "low", occupies place 74 in the ranking.
Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.[3]
^ ab"สถิติทางการทะเบียน" [Registration statistics]. bora.dopa.go.th. Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA). December 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2020. Download จำนวนประชากร ปี พ.ศ.2562 - Download population year 2019
^ ab"ข้อมูลสถิติดัชนีความก้าวหน้าของคน ปี 2565 (PDF)" [Human Achievement Index Databook year 2022 (PDF)]. Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) (in Thai). Retrieved 12 March 2024, page 75{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^ ab"ตารางที่ 2 พี้นที่ป่าไม้ แยกรายจังหวัด พ.ศ.2562" [Table 2 Forest area Separate province year 2019]. Royal Forest Department (in Thai). 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021, information, Forest statistics Year 2019{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^"ตราสัญลัทษณ์" [Emblem]. khokkrabue.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. The emblem mentions: เทศบาลตำบลคอกกระบือ - Khok Krabue subdistrict municipality.
^ abcd"พระราชบัญญัติ เปลี่ยนแปลงฐานะของสุขาภิบาลเป็นเทศบาล พ.ศ.๒๕๔๒" [Royal Decree: Change Sanitation district to Municipality Act B.E. 2542 (1999)] (PDF). Royal Thai Government Gazette. 116 (9 Kor): 1–4. 24 February 1999. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2020. Sanitation districts Lak Ha, Bang Pla, Kaset Phatthana and Ban Phaeo are upgraded to subdistrict municipality, effectively 25 May 1999
^"ตราสัญลัทษณ์" [Emblem]. khaerai.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. The emblem mentions: ทต.แคราย - Khae Rai subdistrict municipality.
^"ประวัติความเป็นมา" [History]. suanluang.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. Established Suan Luang SAO, Krathum Baen district, Samut Sakhon province is Suan Luang subdistrict municipality on 18 January 2008.
^"Number of local government organizations: Summary elevating local authorities". dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 20 September 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2020. No.4.47 Established Don Kai Di Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), Krathum Baen district, Samut Sakhon province is Don Kai Di subdistrict municipality, effectively 30 September 2011.
^Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), List of 5,324 SAO's information as of date 20 December 2019, 22 SAO's (no.4196-4218) were established in 1995 (9), in 1996 (1) and in 1997 (12).
^"รายชื่อชุมชนในเขตเทศบาลนครสมุทรสาคร" [List of communities in the Samut Sakhon Municipality]. sakhoncity.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. 32 communities in 3 groups.
^"ชุมชน" [Communities]. omnoi.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. 28 communities.
^"ชุมชน" [Communities]. ktb.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. 9 communities.
^"ข้อมูลชุมชน" [Community information]. klongmadua.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. 11 communities.
^"สภาพทั่วไป" [General condition]. suanluang.go.th (in Thai). 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. 14 communities.
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