Water situation in Thailand improves this year

BANGKOK, June 14 (TNA) - Thailand's Royal Irrigation Department says that water management throughout the country this year is believed to meet the government's target although concerned agencies need to closely monitor the water situation over the next couple of months, prompted by recent widespread downpours with the higher amounts of water than average levels in major rivers subsequently. Director of the department's Office of Hydrology and Water Management Dr. Thongplew Kongchan insisted on Wednesday that runoffs through the Chao Phraya Dam in the central Thai region have remained normal, thanks to good water management and controllable water levels at the Bhumibol and Sirikit Dams, even though water levels in the Yom and Nan Rivers are now above average levels and close monitoring will be needed over the next couple of months if downpours continue. Dr. Thongplew assessed that ongoing flooding in the Lower Thai North, including Sukhothai and Pitsanulok provinces, would not cause inundations in the country's central basins due to the sound water management, under which current runoffs will be timely released to the sea when the new runoffs from the two upstream provinces arrive at the Chao Phraya Dam in the central Chainat province over the next seven days. In addition, Meteorologist Methee Mahayosnan acknowledged that the El Nino phenomenon this year would lead to lower temperatures in the sea off Thailand's western coast with less water vapour and then less amount of downpours later this year and next year. (TNA)