March 16, 2005
BANGKOK (AFP) - As Thailand wrestles with one of its worst droughts in years, millions of people from China to Indonesia are also desperate for the rains to return.
In at least seven countries in and around Southeast Asia, wells and reservoirs have dried up, crops have withered, governments have declared disaster zones, and in some cases communities are going hungry.
Authorities in Thailand, one of the rice bowls of Southeast Asia and a country heavily dependent on agriculture, were scrambling to contend with bone-dry conditions in 63 of Thailand's 76 provinces. Drought now affects 9.2 million people in the country.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej has expressed worry over the looming crisis to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and urged the government to urgently focus on cloud seeding.
Thaksin himself acknowledged the drought "will affect economic growth" and that his government could do little to salvage devastated crops.
At least 809,000 hectares (two million acres) of farmland lie ruined at a cost of 7.4 billion baht (193.2 million dollars), according to interior ministry figures.
"Farmers' revenues would be affected, particularly the farmer who focuses on exports," Thaksin said Tuesday.
Large dams are only at 40 percent capacity or below, according to the agriculture ministry, while four reservoirs in northeastern Thailand have reported critical capacity levels.
"We have a potable water shortage, so we have to do whatever we can to help during this situation," said Pinyo Thongsing, an official at Chulabhorn dam in Chaiyaphun province, where reservoir levels have plunged to four percent of capacity.
"If there is no rain during this period, we'll be in crisis."
Thai authorities are planning to ask their neighbours, especially Laos and Myanmar, about diverting water from the Mekong river to slake thirsty farm land.
Yet Vietnam's Mekong delta is itself in dire straights. Some experts, blaming the El Nino weather phenomenon, say the Mekong Delta could face its worst drought in a century.
Vietnam has been hit both in the delta and the central region. A ministry of agriculture official in Hanoi confirmed the central highlands' five provinces were affected, including 162,500 hectares of cultivated lands containing 134,500 hectares of coffee.
Nationwide, the drought has cost more than 60 million dollars, the official said.
In central provinces, 1.3 million people have faced shortages of clean water since December, ministry official Tran Ai Quoc said.
"Local authorities have to find new sources of water and use it sparingly, set up a proper schedule for its use on crops in affected areas, and improve the state of wells and canals," the official said.
Parts of southern China are experiencing their worst drought in decades.
The sustained drought in southern Guangdong province, said to be the worst in 55 years, threatens the rice harvest and other crops. Cloud seeding planes have been dispatched to operate between March and May.
On China's southern Hainan Island, drought has meant 900,000 people face difficulty getting drinkable water.
It has also posed a threat to more than 210,000 hectares of crops -- more than half of the province's total arable land -- and to 194,000 head of livestock, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Cambodia, too, was suffering its worst drought in recent years, hitting 14 out of 24 provinces and municipalities.
Nhim Vanda, chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, said some areas were experiencing food shortages and not less than a million people were affected. Of those, 700,000 were seriously hit in the predominantly agricultural kingdom of 13 million people.
"We have urged them to plant dry-season rice, with about 300,000 hectares already planted," he said.
In Malaysia, more than 6,000 rice farmers are affected, officials said.
Rain is not expected until late March, and a meteorological department official told AFP cloud-seeding would begin in the northern states of Perlis and Kedah on Wednesday.
In Laos, officials were coy about disclosing the drought's extent.
There have been few if any rains since December, but the impact on crops is likely minimal as most are harvested later in the year during the rainy season.
While much of Indonesia is currently under the rainy season, drought has also clipped the province of East Nusa Tenggara, affecting 10 of the province's 16 districts and municipalities, the Kompas newspaper said.
BANGKOK (AFP) - As Thailand wrestles with one of its worst droughts in years, millions of people from China to Indonesia are also desperate for the rains to return.
In at least seven countries in and around Southeast Asia, wells and reservoirs have dried up, crops have withered, governments have declared disaster zones, and in some cases communities are going hungry.
Authorities in Thailand, one of the rice bowls of Southeast Asia and a country heavily dependent on agriculture, were scrambling to contend with bone-dry conditions in 63 of Thailand's 76 provinces. Drought now affects 9.2 million people in the country.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej has expressed worry over the looming crisis to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and urged the government to urgently focus on cloud seeding.
Thaksin himself acknowledged the drought "will affect economic growth" and that his government could do little to salvage devastated crops.
At least 809,000 hectares (two million acres) of farmland lie ruined at a cost of 7.4 billion baht (193.2 million dollars), according to interior ministry figures.
"Farmers' revenues would be affected, particularly the farmer who focuses on exports," Thaksin said Tuesday.
Large dams are only at 40 percent capacity or below, according to the agriculture ministry, while four reservoirs in northeastern Thailand have reported critical capacity levels.
"We have a potable water shortage, so we have to do whatever we can to help during this situation," said Pinyo Thongsing, an official at Chulabhorn dam in Chaiyaphun province, where reservoir levels have plunged to four percent of capacity.
"If there is no rain during this period, we'll be in crisis."
Thai authorities are planning to ask their neighbours, especially Laos and Myanmar, about diverting water from the Mekong river to slake thirsty farm land.
Yet Vietnam's Mekong delta is itself in dire straights. Some experts, blaming the El Nino weather phenomenon, say the Mekong Delta could face its worst drought in a century.
Vietnam has been hit both in the delta and the central region. A ministry of agriculture official in Hanoi confirmed the central highlands' five provinces were affected, including 162,500 hectares of cultivated lands containing 134,500 hectares of coffee.
Nationwide, the drought has cost more than 60 million dollars, the official said.
In central provinces, 1.3 million people have faced shortages of clean water since December, ministry official Tran Ai Quoc said.
"Local authorities have to find new sources of water and use it sparingly, set up a proper schedule for its use on crops in affected areas, and improve the state of wells and canals," the official said.
Parts of southern China are experiencing their worst drought in decades.
The sustained drought in southern Guangdong province, said to be the worst in 55 years, threatens the rice harvest and other crops. Cloud seeding planes have been dispatched to operate between March and May.
On China's southern Hainan Island, drought has meant 900,000 people face difficulty getting drinkable water.
It has also posed a threat to more than 210,000 hectares of crops -- more than half of the province's total arable land -- and to 194,000 head of livestock, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Cambodia, too, was suffering its worst drought in recent years, hitting 14 out of 24 provinces and municipalities.
Nhim Vanda, chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, said some areas were experiencing food shortages and not less than a million people were affected. Of those, 700,000 were seriously hit in the predominantly agricultural kingdom of 13 million people.
"We have urged them to plant dry-season rice, with about 300,000 hectares already planted," he said.
In Malaysia, more than 6,000 rice farmers are affected, officials said.
Rain is not expected until late March, and a meteorological department official told AFP cloud-seeding would begin in the northern states of Perlis and Kedah on Wednesday.
In Laos, officials were coy about disclosing the drought's extent.
There have been few if any rains since December, but the impact on crops is likely minimal as most are harvested later in the year during the rainy season.
While much of Indonesia is currently under the rainy season, drought has also clipped the province of East Nusa Tenggara, affecting 10 of the province's 16 districts and municipalities, the Kompas newspaper said.