Farmers along the Mekong River who planted crops in defiance of government orders or switched to fishing to sustain themselves during the drought are awash with relief after China began releasing water upstream.
On the rise: Water levels in the Mekong River in Tha Bo district of Nong Khai province have risen sharply following China’s dam discharge.
The release from a dam in Yunnan, which began on Tuesday and will last until April 10, caused the water level of the Mekong River in Nong Khai province to rise to 1.8m yesterday, a 27cm rise, an irrigation department official said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a letter dated Monday to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, saying Chinese embassy officials confirmed China would release water from Yunnan's Jinghom dam to help ease the drought situation and safeguard saline soil in Thailand.
Beijing was concerned that the drought situation was worsening, affecting farmers in many provinces.
According to the letter, about two megalitres per second of water would be released from the dam until April 10 to feed crops in farmland along the river.
China is also facing a drought, its worst in 90 years.
In Yunnan, the Mekong River's water level has receded by 20%.
The release of water prompted the Nong Khai central administration office to issue a warning to local authorities, urging them to pass the word to locals who would be affected by the rising water.
A number of farmers have switched from off-season rice cultivation to fish farming in the river, while many of them have planted vegetables.
The government expects the drought crisis to hit after April because water levels in the country's main dams are running alarmingly low.
The release of water has also come to the aid of cargo vessels, allowing them to navigate more easily along the river.
In Nakhon Phanom, the rise in the Mekong River had helped farmers to maintain their paddy sprouts, an official
said.
Many farmers in the province defied government orders and planted rice on 10,000 plots of land along the river, authorities said.