Drought situation continues to worsen

[Lite Beer]

Drought situation continues to worsen

CHAINART, 27 April 2014, (NNT) - The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has reported that the drought situation in 42 provinces has worsened.

It took more than 10 firetrucks two hours to put out a drought related bush fire in Chainart Province yesterday, officials said; fortunately, no injuries or deaths were reported.

Lychee farms in Nong Khai Province have been suffering from water shortages, as drought has been ravaging the area for months, greatly diminishing the produce. Farmers said some of the lychee trees couldn't withstand the torrid conditions any longer and withered away.

According to the DDPM, the majority of the 42 provinces severely hit by droughts are in the northern, and northeastern regions.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department expects that a tropical storm will hit both areas as well as the central region, and extending into the eastern provinces during the last few days of the month. This overall area will experience heavy thunderstorms, gusty winds and, in some zones, hailstorms.

The department also says that today (April 27) may be the hottest day of the year.

-- NNT 2014-04-27

[winstonc]

its baking here in ubonratchathani..not a drop as yet..

[Tywais]

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[Thaiisnotrequired]

It's called the end of summer.... before the wet monsoon season and pussing rain comes and we get threats of floods.... nothing new here...

Glad nobody has been burned in a huge forest fire though.

[Chicog]

Whilst in Chiang Mai I heard that rainfall for the region 1Q14 was something like 42% down on the previous year.

That is quite a variation.

[ginjag]

Hot today here in Udon Thani, but looks like a storm brewing, wind starting to get up. fingers crossed.

[issanaus]

Whilst in Chiang Mai I heard that rainfall for the region 1Q14 was something like 42% down on the previous year.

That is quite a variation.

I guess Poo's tears count as another failed policy then

[carstenp]

Rain is here now.. Udon Thani ... Cooling down

Edited April 27, 2014 by carstenp

[how241]

Hot today here in Udon Thani, but looks like a storm brewing, wind starting to get up. fingers crossed.

+1...We need the rain badly.

[mortiboy]

Hot today here in Udon Thani, but looks like a storm brewing, wind starting to get up. fingers crossed.

+1...We need the rain badly.

No rain here Nong Sam Rong) Udon.

Still blue sky.But can hear thunder in the far distant!

[MaxLee]

Hot today here in Udon Thani, but looks like a storm brewing, wind starting to get up. fingers crossed.

+1...We need the rain badly.

You will get more than you asked for starting from August onwards towards climax October. Wanna bet?

[chiang mai]

Whilst in Chiang Mai I heard that rainfall for the region 1Q14 was something like 42% down on the previous year.

That is quite a variation.

Take a drive out to Mae Tang and then a speedboat/longtail out to the floating resort, sit and have a cold one in the middle of the "lake" and note that the water levels are down by thirty feet or more, scary.

[carstenp]

The rain must be very local.. As told before I'm living 5 km south from udon we have thunder and rain

Edit:Attach movie

trim.7oH9GJ.MOV

Edited April 27, 2014 by carstenp

[ginjag]

The rain must be very local.. As told before in living 5 km south from udon we have thunder and rain

3 kilometers north of Udon, NOWT,, only a threat. wind up a bit that's all.

[cmiuc]

I really challenge this matter... in some ways..

last year... i went to a local dam near yasothon... and the water was so low, at this same time last year...

and a few days ago... i crossed over it.. and it is still full as can be..

call me inept... but if the drought is as bad as they are saying... why is this dam so full and the river's flowing to evenly?

kind of interesting...

maybe an excuse to raise water utilities in my opinion especially after the water festival of songkran... frack the people!!!

[Hornell]

42C on my (covered) balcony at 3 pm today, about 50 km north of Korat.

[billsmart]

It's been very hot here in Phetchabun for the past month or more. Lately it's been around 40 during the day. Almost too hot to play golf - I said "almost"...

My wife still hasn't been paid for her rice crop sold to the government last November. There has been some movement though. She started out 995 in the queue at the local Farmer's Bank and is now about 250. Maybe she'll get paid sometime in May.

In the meantime because of the drought she lost most of her current rice crop. She was only able to harvest about 10% of what she normally harvests. This is a double blow to all the farmers waiting on payment. We can survive, but a lot I'm sure can't and won't.

[ginjag]

The rain must be very local.. As told before I'm living 5 km south from udon we have thunder and rain

Edit:Attach movie

Jammy sod you are--at 5pm it came took one look at us in Nth Udon and buggered off.

[Trentham]

Thailand has no idea what a drought is. Since I arrived in 2004 they have complained every year about being in drought. It is complete nonsense.

If they want to know what a drought is they should do some research in Australia. There we can go years [last drought from 2003 to 2010] with almost no rain. Animals die in their thousands or have to be destroyed Crops fail year after year. People suffer severe water use restrictions - no watering gardens, no car washing, we are asked to only flush the toilet after defecation but not after urination. It leads to bush fires which on occasions kill more than 100 people and the loss of thousands of buildings and hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and farms destroyed.

It is just your dry season Thailand. Sometimes it might be a bit longer than usual but it is NOT drought.

[chiang mai]

I really challenge this matter... in some ways..

last year... i went to a local dam near yasothon... and the water was so low, at this same time last year...

and a few days ago... i crossed over it.. and it is still full as can be..

call me inept... but if the drought is as bad as they are saying... why is this dam so full and the river's flowing to evenly?

kind of interesting...

maybe an excuse to raise water utilities in my opinion especially after the water festival of songkran... frack the people!!!

An easier way to look at things: when was the last time you saw real heavy and protracted rainfall, case closed.

[Tom420]

42C on my (covered) balcony at 3 pm today, about 50 km north of Korat.

Why do temperature readings on weather reports and the internet always fall lower than they do when you take them yourself or see a reading on say a building that has a digital board? honest question, because it says that it is 34 degrees here but it feels like 40 and there is a temperature board near the Kings Palace that said it was 37 at around 3pm?

[h90]

It's called the end of summer.... before the wet monsoon season and pussing rain comes and we get threats of floods.... nothing new here...

Glad nobody has been burned in a huge forest fire though.

Wait till October everyone will be surprised that there is too much water.

But well it isn't a Thai thing. In my home country there is always a disaster in November as everyone is surprised there is snow the same time as the last 10.000 years

[mrtoad]

Koh Chang rained for an hour this afternoon, oppressive heat and ongoing water shortages in one of the wettest regions of Thailand.

[ggt]

Maybe next year...they can figure-out how to recycle the water wasted at Songkran...

[SanukJoeII]

42C on my (covered) balcony at 3 pm today, about 50 km north of Korat.

Why do temperature readings on weather reports and the internet always fall lower than they do when you take them yourself or see a reading on say a building that has a digital board? honest question, because it says that it is 34 degrees here but it feels like 40 and there is a temperature board near the Kings Palace that said it was 37 at around 3pm?

Go from the pont that the meteo stations have the right instruments and the right measurements. All bla bla reports about 42°C are fake, as the highest temp in the last week was 40.9°C in Mae Hong Son. Udon had a highest temp of 39.8°C yesterday. Also don't forget that temps vary locally. I'm reading Udon meteo temps and they are a bit higher than mine, but we are 75 km out of each other, so likely a variation in temps.

There is a difference between real temp and the temp you experience. Same in European winters when a -5°C can feel like -10°C, mostly because of wind. In Thailand when it's hot it's also dry, something like 35 RH. That together feels hot, and as temps rise above your body temp of 37.2°C you breathe warm air, hence the "hot" feeling.

As for drought, in my area, 75 km east of Udon, no real drought. We had rain about twice a week, also today around 4 pm, heavy thunderstorm with gusts of rain, one hour and it's over, but quite some water came down. The land is green, flowers bloom, grass grows like hell Farmers don't complain here, and as has been said, it's ebery year the same, nothing new. I really wonder if it's a good idea that theis disaster department makes itself important by interfering in meterological matters, as there is an excellent department for that...

[allan michaud]

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Whilst in Chiang Mai I heard that rainfall for the region 1Q14 was something like 42% down on the previous year.

That is quite a variation.

That doesn't mean much if rainfall in the last Q1 was above average, it would more useful to say how much it is above average.

[slipperylobster]

The rain must be very local.. As told before in living 5 km south from udon we have thunder and rain

3 kilometers north of Udon, NOWT,, only a threat. wind up a bit that's all.

Near the airport, just after sunset, windy a bit...no drops and no thunder heard as of yet

[ginjag]

The rain must be very local.. As told before in living 5 km south from udon we have thunder and rain

3 kilometers north of Udon, NOWT,, only a threat. wind up a bit that's all.

Near the airport, just after sunset, windy a bit...no drops and no thunder heard as of yet

Thunder flashes here now, still no damn rain. It's that Kharma again I am never going to kill any more cockroaches.

[marko kok prong]

not had a day here in Wichian buri[Petchabun province] under 38 c for weeks,a few into the 40c mark,have had a few good storms though,yet since the met office issued the recent warning,nothing,hate this time of year,looking forward to the wet season,and even my wife hates it,so to think that because Thai people grow up in this it does not bother them think again,i don't think any humans enjoy 38c+ temps,of course we are talking shade air temps here,if out in the sun working closer to 55c,how the hell they work in those fields and not collapse is beyond me,they are a very hardy people.

[mok199]

i have so much to say about this and songkran,but i have had 4 warnings in the last year on this site...so wont say anything...only.......we all need to ''respect water''.....i have taught all my kids and my gal,to have the old ''military shower''........clean is clean...2 minutes....