Droughts hit Thailand and India, risking stress on food supplies

Rice producers see further export cut; Australia scrambles to import wheat

MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writer

 

Women fetch water from an opening made by residents at a dried-up lake in Chennai, India on June 11.   © Reuters

 

BANGKOK -- Persistently dry weather in parts of Asia and Oceania has caused the most severe droughts in years, raising fears of economic and social impacts on the regions' communities. Thailand is now facing reduced production -- and therefore exports -- of rice, and Australia, usually an exporter of wheat, is rushing to import the commodity.

 

Somkiat Prajamwong, secretary-general at Thailand's office of national water resources, warned last week that 83 districts in 20 provinces in the country's north and northeast regions are "at critical risk of water shortages."

 

"This year, we have nearly 12 billion cubic meters less water than in 2018," he added. The country currently has about 38 billion cubic meters of water in its reservoirs, 24% less than the year before.

 

Full story: https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Droughts-hit-Thailand-and-India-risking-stress-on-food-supplies

 

-- NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW 2019-07-30

I live in the Prachinburi area. 8 months with out any decent rain. Thankfully the last 3 weeks have provided the normal monsoonal rain

''whiskey's for drinking, water's for fighting over''...Mark Twain  . shower with a friend !

Up my area we have had twice the rainfall from last July,

with such a large area missing out on the rain, as this continues to happen in regular seasons,  surely advanced storage or pumping from other sources can be implemented, 

the government continually fails to spend money in the right areas, they are just so reactive, (send more seeding planes) that achieve very little in those affected areas, 

waste money on military spending,

No rain is happening every year all over SE Asia so if that is not telling you something is not right from your records of rain fall and you fail to heed that warning and you fail as a government to look at alleviating or being proactive then you fail your people.

While the navy press on with the 12 billion purchase of a second submarine

Some months ago, Prayut did an excellent presentation of the problem on one of his Friday evening fireside chats.

 

The understanding and solutions are with the government. It is just the usual problem, not particular to Thailand, of executing the strategy, IE making everyone aware of the problem and responses, and executing the strategy.

 

Maybe some of the problems are beyond the reach of the Thai government. Such as climate change or the Mekong River. Was this discussed at last month's G20? It is important for the public to know what is being done about it.

 

57 minutes ago, thirdleg said:

While the navy press on with the 12 billion purchase of a second submarine

But one day, in the future, no submarine, no check points, no borders, will stop all those families that will want to migrate between regions, between countries just to live. 

There are some growing concerns, about emerging issues, that need to be taken very seriously  and that are absolutely key to assuring public confidence in the future.

 

Climate change is one of them. Drought.

 

But there is also safety and health. Pollution in the North. It's not limited to Thailand and it would be good to hear of a multilateral response to this great danger.

 

Public health: The air pollution in the North is a major threat to Public Health, obviously, and is also very detrimental to tourism, again this is obvious. And if the people of the north are deprived of their livelihoods from tourism (which is considerable as a percentage of the GDP), there will be trouble in the streets. There is a feeling sometimes that Thailand is run from Bangkok, for Bangkok, and this is creating a divisive climate that needs to be treated, now the troubles are over.

 

Another issue is the carnage on the roads, for which, thankfully, the government is doing its utmost.

 

Security is a major issue in other countries, but thankfully Thailand is mostly spared these terrible Jihadi attacks. Should terrorism start raising it's ugly head, the government response will limit the freedom for which Thailand is internationally known and loved.

 

 

8 minutes ago, MartinKal said:

There are some growing concerns, about emerging issues, that need to be taken very seriously  and that are absolutely key to assuring public confidence in the future.

 

Climate change is one of them. Drought.

 

But there is also safety and health. Pollution in the North. It's not limited to Thailand and it would be good to hear of a multilateral response to this great danger.

 

Public health: The air pollution in the North is a major threat to Public Health, obviously, and is also very detrimental to tourism, again this is obvious. And if the people of the north are deprived of their livelihoods from tourism (which is considerable as a percentage of the GDP), there will be trouble in the streets. There is a feeling sometimes that Thailand is run from Bangkok, for Bangkok, and this is creating a divisive climate that needs to be treated, now the troubles are over.

 

Another issue is the carnage on the roads, for which, thankfully, the government is doing its utmost.

 

Security is a major issue in other countries, but thankfully Thailand is mostly spared these terrible Jihadi attacks. Should terrorism start raising it's ugly head, the government response will limit the freedom for which Thailand is internationally known and loved.

 

 

And a ageing population that will cause huge problems by the 2030s

11 minutes ago, thirdleg said:

And a ageing population that will cause huge problems by the 2030s

Totally agree. And slowing growth which is partly a result of an ageing population. And increasing public debt, which is the govt response to that. And ever-lower interest rates that just push up the value of assets (held by the rich) and further impoverish the poor. Which leads to mass stagnation Japanese-style and unrest.

 

One day, someone will press the reset button because there will be no other options on the table. But if we think and move together, we can head that off...maybe

27 minutes ago, MartinKal said:

There are some growing concerns, about emerging issues, that need to be taken very seriously  and that are absolutely key to assuring public confidence in the future.

 

Climate change is one of them. Drought.

 

But there is also safety and health. Pollution in the North. It's not limited to Thailand and it would be good to hear of a multilateral response to this great danger.

 

Public health: The air pollution in the North is a major threat to Public Health, obviously, and is also very detrimental to tourism, again this is obvious. And if the people of the north are deprived of their livelihoods from tourism (which is considerable as a percentage of the GDP), there will be trouble in the streets. There is a feeling sometimes that Thailand is run from Bangkok, for Bangkok, and this is creating a divisive climate that needs to be treated, now the troubles are over.

 

Another issue is the carnage on the roads, for which, thankfully, the government is doing its utmost.

 

Security is a major issue in other countries, but thankfully Thailand is mostly spared these terrible Jihadi attacks. Should terrorism start raising it's ugly head, the government response will limit the freedom for which Thailand is internationally known and loved.

 

 

The government response to all this is clear,  we're getting rich today and none of this matters. 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand is now facing reduced production -- and therefore exports -- of rice

Another blow to the already declining export numbers. The PM and his economic wizard Somkid are going to have to pull some rabbits out of the hat to compensate for the disruption to rice production caused by Mother Nature.

No amount of dam building and ditch digging will save them now. All the governments including juntas should have done more decades ago. 

Not to worry, the new "strykers" will be able to deliver water supplies to your front door !

Opps! the drought has come. What a surprise? We have been knowing this would happen in over 20 years of time. Why not try and prepare a little bit earlier?

Oh, no! Thailand has barely enough rice for self-consumption, so let's export machinery, computers, airplanes, chemicals... no wait!! Okay, rubber and mangoes will have to do...

2 hours ago, Oziex1 said:

The government response to all this is clear,  we're getting rich today and none of this matters. 

The upper 5% don't need to worry, and the poor rest of the population will get a 50-baht handout; problem solved...

6 hours ago, thirdleg said:

While the navy press on with the 12 billion purchase of a second submarine

Where's the first one?

Just now, Bundooman said:

Where's the first one?

under construction

Just now, Bundooman said:

Where's the first one?

in the repair shop!!

6 hours ago, thirdleg said:

While the navy press on with the 12 billion purchase of a second submarine

It may be to protect the water … ????