Drought

A lack of rainfall and scorching heat is destroying the livelihoods of Lao farmers, who say their crops are dying amid an ongoing drought in the Southeast Asian region linked to the El Niño phenomenon. The drought since May has left those in Laos who rely on ...

Tough water conservation measures for state agencies and households in Bangkok and surrounding areas could be introduced to address the water scarcity crisis.  The proposal comes amid criticism the government has forced farmers to bear the burden of the crisis by banning agricultural water use without substantial ...

Drought conditions in Thailand that have threatened the country’s rice production and economic growth are over, the deputy head of Thailand’s disaster prevention department has said. The wet season is underway but Thailand was contending with drought conditions in seven out of 67 provinces last week, ...

The government plans to ask people to donate drinking water to drought-stricken residents, deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd says. The cabinet will discuss the donation campaign.  Water distribution points will be set up under an initiative of His Majesty the King in drought-hit areas in various ...

Farmers in several drought-stricken provinces in the Chao Phraya River basin have spurned the government’s calls to halt pumping water for agricultural use. The move came as water discharges from four major dams in the Chao Phraya River basin are being gradually cut from 28 million cubic metres per ...

Thailand is experiencing the worst drought in decades, with seven out of 67 provinces affected and water rationing taking place in almost a third of the country. Thailand’s Irrigation Department said that the amount of usable water in dams across the country, except in the West, ...

Cambodia rice farmers have started planting for the 2015 main rice crop in May and will continue until July end. However, unusually high temperatures and low rainfall are raising concerns that this year’s paddy production will suffer significantly due to the drought-inducing El Nino weather ...

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned farmers to brace for the impact from reduced dam water releases. The government has ordered provincial governors to work with the military and police to stop farmers from diverting water for their farmland, following its move to cut ...

The number of drought-hit provinces has more than halved after rain made an appearance in the upper North and Northeast, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said Sunday. Department chief Chatchai Promlert said 40 provinces were reported as drought-hit until the weekend, when welcome rain eased the ...

A severe drought is affecting many people in provinces across Cambodia and has prompted the government to warn that it will deepen poverty in the developing country. Sivann Botum, secretary of state for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and a member of the National Committee for ...