Drought and haze: hot season woes return
It is hot and its going to get hotter. No significant rain is in the forecast. That is likely to worsen two seasonal problems that are especially bad this year: drought and haze.
It is hot and its going to get hotter. No significant rain is in the forecast. That is likely to worsen two seasonal problems that are especially bad this year: drought and haze.
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Water pumps in an irrigation canal provide water for farmland in tambon Sanamklee of Suphan Buri's Muang district. Pumping has led to a sharp drop in the canal's water level. The Royal Irrigation Department is urging rice farmers to grow only one crop this year because of an expected water shortage. THANARAK KHUNTON
It is the hot season and, according to the Meteorological Department, it is going to get hotter. Next week, areas of the North, the Northeast and the Central regions will see temperatures approaching 40 Celsius. (That's 104 Farenheit for North American readers.)
No significant rain is in the forecast. That is likely to worsen two seasonal problems that are especially bad this year: drought and haze.
Here are two excerpts from today's Bangkok Post on the problems.
Drought descends over rice fields
Manop Thip-osod
Along irrigation canals in several districts of Suphan Buri, water pumps are lined up side by side to siphon water into small, feeder canals, where water will be stored for farm use in the next two months.
But there is no telling if the water supply will be enough to last them that long.
Farmers are uncertain whether irrigation authorities would open sluice gates to release more water in the near future as the drought appears to be more severe and it arrived earlier than communities expected.
“Farmers in Nong Yasai and nearby districts knew in advance they might not be able to grow off-season rice two years in a row,” Kraison Kaewruang, the 42-year-old village headman of Moo 5 in Nong Yasai district’s tambon Nong Pho.
Large cracks line a rice field in Suphan Buri’s Nong Yasai district, one of several areas hit hard by drought. THANARAK KHUNTON
Mr Kraison said not much rain fell this year over the Kra Seaw dam, one of the main water sources.
Even if market sales fetched 10,000 baht per tonne, the risk of planting rice and seeing it wilt from drought is simply too much of a gamble, he said.
“The irrigation authorities wouldn’t supply us with water for sure.’’
Farmers hope the water released from the Kra Seaw dam will be enough to feed livestock or quick-growing crops, which can be eaten or sold on the side to supplement their income, he said.
Mr Kraison said the drought would hit 4,800 rai of sugar cane and rice farms belonging to 156 households in his village.
He said rice and sugar cane need at least four rounds of irrigation water per season — now a pipe dream as the dam is being rapidly depleted of water.
Full story here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/498350/drought-descends-over-rice-fields
Chiang Mai airport has been shrouded in haze for the past week, leading to the cancellation of several flights. CHANAT KATANYU
Flights turned back as North haze worsens
POST REPORTERS
A thick layer of haze from slash-and-burn farming that has blanketed Chiang Mai’s Muang district has prevented four flights from landing in the city’s airport and poses health risks to city residents.
Staff at Chiang Mai airport confirmed yesterday Thai Airways flight TG 106 from Suvarnabhumi airport and Thai Lion Air flight SL8504 from Don Muang airport were forced to return to the capital between 11.40am and 12.05pm due to worsening haze conditions in Muang district.
Meanwhile, two other flights, Bangkok Airways flight PG241 from Samui of Surat Thani and Air Asia flight FD3161 from Phuket were diverted to land in Chiang Rai between 12.10pm and 12.30pm.
Flight diversions, worsening health problems among locals, and a rash of tourist cancellations stemming from the haze problem are increasing the economic cost of the farmer burn-offs, with authorities now threatening to take legal action against farms if the problem gets any worse.
The haze has affected visibility in many areas of Muang district, limiting visibility on tall buildings and Doi Suthep to between 500-1,000 metres yesterday morning.
When the haze gets particularly bad, spraying water can be a temporary solution. CHEEWIN SATTHA
Data from a pollution control unit at Yupparaj Wittayalai School showed that airborne particulate matter, or PM10, in Muang district yesterday stood at 258 microgrammes per cubic metre, exceeding the maximum safety threshold of 120 microgrammes.
Residents have complained of eye and nose irritations as the majority of them did not wear masks when they went outside, according to health authorities.
They said more than 37,000 people have sought treatment for respiratory problems at community clinics since the start of this month.
Full story here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/498365/flights-turned-back-as-north-haze-worsens
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