drought
- Thailand News
Hunger calling at villagers doors amid drought in central Thailand
A hungry herd of elephants went knocking on doors in a Prachin Buri village early yesterday morning, searching for food or water as drought drives them out of their reserve. Frightened villagers awoke to the sounds of wild elephants shuffling around in their yards, rooting for veggies, early on Saturday. Residents of Nong Pradu reported that some elephants from the…
- Thailand News
Cabinet approves 1.6 billion baht to solve Thai flood problems
The Thai Cabinet yesterday approved a budget of almost 1.6 billion to deal with Thailand’s perpetual flood problems. Some 912 million baht has been set aside for water management during the rainy and drought seasons while 664 million baht has been allocated for new water pumps. Prime Minister Office spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisi told an assembled Thai press conference yesterday that…
- World News
Global Covid-19 recovery efforts will have lasting impact on climate
A comprehensive environmental assessment has warned that the global Covid-19 recovery efforts will have a long lasting impact on the climate. The assessment highlighted countries’ heightened use of fossil fuels as a part of their recoveries, and explained the risk that this poses to the environment and human health. The Lancet Countdown is the largest annual assessment on what impacts…
- Hua Hin News
Provincial employee arrested for allegedly stealing millions in government funds
A woman allegedly stole 33 million baht in government funds over the course of a year, using some of it support her gambling addiction. 28 year old Kanitha Hoythong, who worked in the finance and accounting section of the Prachuap Khiri Khan provincial offices, was arrested on charges of misappropriation and forging government documents. Hoythong allegedly forged signatures of authorised…
- Thailand Weather Updates
This year’s wet season expected to be later, drier
Thailand’s annual rainy season usually arrives sometime around Songkran, the Thai New Year festival, on April 13 each year. But the Thai Meteorological Department is warning that the start of heavy rains are unlikely to start around the country until around the third week in May. They also forecast rainfall this year to be approximately 5% lower than average, adding…
- Covid-19 News
Irrigation Department of Chiang Mai urges citizens to use water sparingly
“The current drought situation is the worst it has been in a decade, with only 1.4 square liters of water running per second. The municipality’s request for water for the moat has had to be delayed as water for households is the main priority at this time.” The Director of Chiang Mai’s Irrigation Department said yesterday the department had added…
- Environment News
‘Ranger’ the civet and friends saved from Chiang Mai forest fires
Twenty wild animals including ‘Ranger’ the palm civet, hawks, yellow throated martens, gibbons and leopards, have been rescued from forest fires in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Mai. The wildlife conservation department says that although some of the animals have been injured in forest fires, they are all now safe and under the care of the animal clinic. They estimate…
- Environment News
Chon Buri struggles with severe drought
As Thailand faces its worst drought in 40 years, officials in Chon Buri met yesterday to discuss a solution regarding lack of water and low water pressure in the province’s Sattahip district, south of Pattaya, also the home to a naval base. Responding to many recent complaints, Sathira Pueakprapan, a member of the council in Chonburi, told reporters that Sattahip…
- Environment News
Drought disasters plague the nation
Between October 17 and yesterday, drought disasters were declared in 116 districts across Thailand, legally obliging the government to provide assistance, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) reports. The disasters were in 20 provinces – Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Phetchabun, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, Kalasin, Maha Sarakham, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Nakhon…
- Environment News
Drought prompts Tesco Lotus to increase bottled water production
Tesco Lotus, the Thai division of Britain’s biggest retailer, is boosting bottled water production to help customers cope with drought. The chain says it will increase production of its own branded bottled water and also increase orders of other brands to sell at its branches nationwide, in response to this year’s drought and water shortages, which is predicted to be the…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Top 10 ways to save our water
Hot weather and Thailand’s boom-or-bust water issues (floods in wet season and water shortages in the hot season) are a part of our life. It’s predicted that there will be hotter hot seasons and wet-seasons with less rain in the future. Even if we’re not sure what the future brings we should all be conscious of our water usage, be…
- Environment News
Keeping Thailand’s taps from running dry
“There is no way that we can send enough water to supply all these farms.” It could be the worst seasonal drought for four decades according to the Office of National Water Resources. Speaking to the Bangkok Post, ONWR secretary-general Somkiat Prajamwong recalled that during the severe drought in 2015 (when Thailand was under military rule), soldiers were sent to protect…
- World News
Mekong nations face severe water shortages
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam should expect severe to extreme drought until at least January 2020, threatening agricultural production, experts warn. Their main water source, the Mekong River, is at its lowest level in over half a century. Drought has already caused the Mekong to drop to its lowest level in at least 60 years, with exceptionally low flow in…
- Northern Thailand News
Northern Thailand drops 1-3 degrees, South to see little rain for the rest of the year
PHOTO: TakeMeTour A strong high-pressure system is looming over southern China and will also affect the upper Northeast of Thailand by tonight and early tomorrow. The Thailand Meteorological Department are forecasting another rather drop of 1.3 degrees C with mornings expected to be cool and foggy in the north and north-east. The high-pressure system affect the North and the Central…
- Opinion
Phuket’s water supply running on empty
PHOTO: No, it’s not the moon, it’s Bang Neow Dam this week Phuket shuffles into the high season with meagre water reserves and no concrete, sustainable plans to meet the upcoming seasonal water demands. In April this year the local water authority shuffled uncomfortably about the crisis at the end of the 2018/2019 dry season, denying there was a problem…
- World News
Dams, politics and greed are killing the mighty Mekong River
Original story by Piyaporn Wongruang – The Nation | PHOTO: Sophie et Fred Dr Chainarong Setthachua, a lecturer and ecology expert at Maha Sarakham University, was at a loss when asked to describe the ongoing Mekong crisis. “The most disastrous situation in history.” Little is being done by governments despite recent stories and stark photos of the dried-bed of a major…
- Northern Thailand News
“No water crisis in the Chao Phraya basin” – Irrigation Department
PHOTO: Bhumibol Dam in Tak when full, now holding only 4% of capacity The Royal Irrigation Department is assuring farmers and residents in the central and north-east that there is no risk of Thailand of severe water shortages. This is despite little rain in some areas during the annual wet season and the low levels of the Chao Phraya River…
- World News
Xayaburi Dam owners say they’re not responsible for dry Mekong River
PHOTO: The Laotian Times CK Power, operators of the new Xayaburi Dam in Laos, are denying their dam tests (running from July 15 until tomorrow) are responsible for the low water flows in the Mekong River. The tests were a lead up to full scale production of electricity from October this year, most of which will head to Thailand. Fingers…
- Northern Thailand News
No rain in sight, eight Thai provinces on verge of water crisis
Thailand’s water situation is becoming critical with eight provinces now listed as critical. Officials are now describing the situation as the worst drought in 50 years. PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha has allocated 1 billion baht to finance the expansion of local water bodies in drought-hit provinces. The lack of rain has left as many as 17 major dams in the…
- Thailand Weather Updates
North-central Thailand’s Yom River in Phichit runs low
Stories keep emerging about river systems, the lifeblood of agriculture in northern and north-eastern Thailand, drying out or dropping dramatically in level. A section of the Yom River that runs through the Sam Ngam in district in Pichit, north-central Thailand, has almost run dry following months without rain. The river was already reported as unseasonally low during April this year.…
- World News
Thai PM has “grave concerns”, orders army to be on standby over drought in north
PHOTO: Thai army water trucks are on standby to help northern farmers Acknowledging the severity of the potential crisis looking over northern and north-eastern provinces, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is instructing the armed forces to provide help to areas affected by drought, a situation which may be made worse by the test run of the new Xayaburi dam on the Laos…
- Northern Thailand News
“Worst drought in living memory”, Thai farmers in the north
Parts of Thailand are facing their worst drought in 50 years. Farmers in some parts of the north and north east say that the situation is the “worst in living memory”, as reported in Sanook. Meanwhile, The Meteorological Department says Thailand will experience the worst drought in at least a decade, with average precipitation across large regions of the country falling…
- Opinion
“Thailand shouldn’t have water problems” – a personal view
OPINION Post from a concerned Phuket resident who is worried about the future of the island’s most precious resource, fresh water. Despite being surrounded by water, potable water supplies are in peril for the forthcoming high season with lower-than-usual rainfall and the dams still at historically-low levels at the time of publishing this story. The person has asked to be anonymous……
- Environment News
Farmers resort to household waste water to save their crops in Suphan Buri
PHOTO: Thai PBS Some farmers in Don Jedi district of Suphan Buri, one of Thailand’s “rice bowl” provinces, are turning to using household waste water to irrigate their parched farmland. Suphan Buri is a province immediately north-west of Bangkok. Desperate to save his 3.2 hectares of rice paddy fields in Village 5, Tambon Don Jedi, rice farmer Narong Wongsuwan told…
- Northern Thailand News
Maha Sarakham districts have no water at all, Phuket gets first decent rain for the year
Tap water has run completely dry in six villages in a Maha Sarakham district, right in the middle of Thailand’s north-east Isaan region, in what’s been described as the worst drought in 40 years. Tap-water sources dried up early this year for 689 households in Phayakkhaphum Phisai district and now all other surface and underground water sources have been exhausted…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s water supply in a critical situation
Phuket’s water lords are now admitting the island’s water situation is in a critical situation – a situation they have had the power to avert but have chosen instead to ‘hope’ for monsoonal rains and go in search of alternative water sources to top up the dwindling catchment resources. Phuket is now in the throws of a water shortage. The…
- Northern Thailand News
Forecast drought will weaken the Thai economy
Thailand suffers calamities at both ends of the annual weather spectrum – both drought and flood. But as the demands on agriculture grow, with a growing population and the rise of tourists and development, the effects of these two extremes are becoming more apparent. Which leads us to this year’s outlook of lower rains which is exposing the poor management…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Roll out the water trucks – Phuket’s water runs low
by Salinee Prap Many areas of Phuket have suffered a shortage of tap water, with inconsistent or no flow, prompting business operators and residents to buy water from the private sector. Phuket as an island, is usually self-sufficient with its water supply, with three large catchments on the island serving locals, expats and the 12 million annual tourists. Phuket governor…
- Northern Thailand News
Drought declared in five Khon Kaen districts
Whilst parts of Thailand suffered floods and overflowing dams during August and September, other parts of the country are now facing drought conditions as we head into the dry season. Khon Kaen Governor Somsak Jungtrakul has declared five districts drought disaster zones. Somsak said on Friday there had been no rain for months in Pol, Nong Song Hong, Ban Had, Waeng…
