Heatwave set to end as wet season begins

Heatwave set to end as wet season begins

Rainfall expected to beat 30-year average

Restaurant workers sleep under a fan during a break in Bangkok on Wednesday. (AP photo)
Restaurant workers sleep under a fan during a break in Bangkok on Wednesday. (AP photo)

The nation should get some relief from the sweltering weather next month as the rainy season begins, the Meteorological Department says.

The department said the amount of rainfall this year is expected to be higher than the average over the past 30 years.

Department deputy chief Songkran Agsorn said on Friday the beginning of the rainy season should start on May 15, with the wet season ending in the middle of October.

At least two storms moving across from the South China Sea are forecast to hit the country this year, compared with none last year.

The department said heavier rainfall will be experienced from the middle of July, with most activity in August and September.

"We are confident there will be more rain than last year and higher than the 30-year average of the country's rainfall by 10%," he said.

The country's average rainfall from 1971 to 2000 was 1,573 millimetres. Last year, the amount of rainfall was 20% lower than the 30-year average.

Mr Songkran said 40% of rainfall this year is expected to replenish dams.

Meanwhile, Royal Irrigation Department (RID) chief Suthep Noipairoj suggested farmers in 18 low-lying provinces in the Central region such as Phitsanulok, Ayutthaya and Sukhothai start planting crops when the rainy season is officially announced.

He said the RID will firm up its policy to store water in dams as a priority to ensure the public would have enough water for consumption next year.

As a result, the RID will reduce the amount of water discharged from the four main dams in the North to 10 million cubic metres per day compared with 18 million cubic metres per day that is normally released between August and October.

"With 40% of rainfall expected to pour from the upstream dams, we are confident that we can effectively manage to have sufficient water for next year," he said.

The RID earlier said it was concerned there would be insufficient water for farmers in the early period of the rainy season, and suggested farmers wait until more rainfall came.

This year's second crop of rice has been reduced to 5.7 million rai from 9.7 million rai last year due to severe drought.

Meanwhile, seasonal thunderstorms and hail have caused widespread damage in many northern and northeastern provinces.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, workers worked frantically to remove parts of a collapsed steel billboard at a public vehicle depot.

Engineers overseeing the removal expected it would take about one week to remove the wreckage from the damaged depot, located near the Pak Thong Chai intersection in Nakhon Ratchasima municipality.

The downtown area is among 20 districts in the province which have been hit by the storms.

Latest reports show nearly 1,000 families bore the brunt of the storms with more than 800 houses, three temples, one state agency, about 60 rice barns and more than 50 animal pens damaged, said Suthep Ruenthawin, chief of Nakhon Ratchasima disaster prevention and mitigation.

Similar damage has been reported in Phayao where several houses and fruit orchards in four districts were hit by rain and hail on Thursday night, officials said.

The northeastern province of Surin also experienced storm and hail damage in Sankhla, Buachet and Si Narong districts late on Thursday. Hundreds of people suffered power blackouts.

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