Thai government readies against El Niño impact with daily monitoring centre

The government is preparing to set up a daily monitoring centre and formulate contingency plans to counter the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon, according to Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.

In a meeting held yesterday, the committee responsible for weather phenomena monitoring, chaired by Phumtham, also deliberated on the reallocation of funds from major investment projects which haven’t shown short-term returns to swiftly address the ongoing drought crisis.

El Niño and La Niña are projected to linger for a duration of up to three years, causing serious repercussions for the population and all sectors of industry, Phumtham highlighted. He further stated that the committee has resolved to form a task force that will monitor the situation daily, with the Thai Meteorological Department’s (TMD) director-general at its helm…