AYUTTHAYA: A brief period of rain was forecast for some Central provinces on Monday, a boon for drought-hit farmers struggling with a second rice crop in need of water.
Prateep Boriboonrat, chief of the Ayutthaya disaster prevention and mitigation office, said weather radar in Bangkok detected rain clouds over parts of Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Ayutthaya provinces, and they were expected to bring light to heavy rain.
This would be very useful for farmers in need of water for second rice crops and would also reduce the levels of PM2.5 toxic dust, he said.
Thitiwat Kleepmalai, chairman of tambon Manwichai administration organisation in Sena district and a leader or farmers in Ayutthaya, confirmed that rain fell early on Monday in tambon Manwichai and nearby areas - to the delight of farmers.
"We wish the rain to stay for at least three or four days. It would bring much relief to farmers whose second crops cover more than 2,000 rai of land in tambon Manwichai and hundreds of thousands of rai in other areas," he said.
Mr Thitiwat said a second crop needs 60-80 days from planting to harvest, and that was still about 20 days off. The rain would help the crop make it through to harvest, he said.
A water vapor satellite map from accuweather.com