Shorter monsoon causing 'water stress'Hydro-Informatics Institute (HII), a state body under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation which analyses water-related data, is warning of a water shortage as it expects this year's rainy season to be shorter than usual. "There will be less rain than last year, which will affect water reserves across the country," the director of HII, Sutat Veesakul, said yesterday. The effect of the shorter monsoon can already be seen, with 25 major dams and reservoirs across Thailand having less than 30% of their total water storage capacity. Mr Sutat said "water stress" is imminent as between November this year and May next year, about 12 billion m³ of water will be needed to meet demands from farms and households in the area. While intense showers will bring relief to the nation's depleted dams, HII warned that they may harm farmers' earnings and livelihoods.

Source: Bangkok Post July 20, 2020 00:11 UTC