Global warming, El Niño ‘causing water shortages in Thailand’

Thanitita Boonyamanikun, deputy secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, blamed global warming, which is causing the average temperature of the Earth to rise. This is also increasing the temperature of the Pacific Ocean, which is disrupting the Pacific monsoons. This had led to lower rainfall in the northern and northeastern regions of Thailand, lowering the water levels in reservoirs, Thanitita said.

The El Niño phenomenon is also playing a role in the decline in water levels. El Niño is a natural phenomenon that causes the surface temperature of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean to be higher than normal. This has also led to lower rainfall in the eastern and southern regions of Thailand, Thanitita said.