Cambodia is officially in a drought, and the conditions could last longer and be more severe than last year, when monsoon rains did not fall until July.
“Based on our monitoring, drought has been detected in Cambodia,” said the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat. “The current drought situation in the country as of March 2016 could be at least as serious as that in 2015 and may likely be getting worse in coming months.”

Last year, according to the MRC, the onset of monsoon rains was delayed until July. A similar delay of the monsoon’s arrival, which is due in May, until as late as August or September is possible this year.
“Obviously, the longer it takes the monsoon rains to finally arrive the worse the situation could get,” the MRC added.

Chan Youttha, spokesman at the Ministry of Water Resources and Management, agreed with the MRC’s assessment, saying: “This year’s drought could be at least as serious as last year, or worse, and last until late August or early September.”

“The heat will be increasing,” Youttha added. “During this Khmer New Year [temperatures] could reach 40 to 41 degrees [Celsius].”

Yesterday, the Phnom Penh Post reported that in Kampong Thom province, Stoung and Prasat Balang districts are facing water shortages. Across the country, 48 communes may have insufficient water this dry season, the newspaper said.

“The worst drought is happening in seven communes in Kampong Thom’s Stoung district,” Youttha told Southeast Asia Globe. “There are 15,000 to 16,000 families living in those areas facing lack of water to use, but we have set up pumps to bring water to the people.”

The MRC pointed to data released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Centre for Satellite Applications and Research – a scientific agency that provides information on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere – that indicated drought is spreading across the country.

Both the MRC and the water resources ministry agreed that this year’s drought is a product of a strong El Niño – a cycle of extreme weather conditions caused by warmer than average sea temperatures in the Pacific.

“We have also observed that the prolonged nature of the current El Niño event, starting back in 2014, has caused additional drought problems,” the MRC said. “As a result, parts of northwest Cambodia have been experiencing drought conditions since 2014. The water deficit has therefore built up considerably.”

Cambodia’s neighbours are also facing water shortages. Vietnam’s main rice growing region in the Mekong Delta is experiencing its worst drought and saline intrusion in recent history, the Associated Press reported last Thursday. On Friday, Vu Duc Long of Vietnam’s National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting told Vietnam News Agency that a number of rivers in the south-central region have shrunk to the lowest level ever recorded, while Central Highlands provinces are experiencing a similar situation.

Yesterday, Thai PBS reported that 17 provinces in Thailand contain areas critically affected by drought, which need emergency assistance from the state.

Additional reporting by Tran Techseng


http://sea-globe.com/cambodia-drought-w ... ong-river/

Yes, this is currently a very serious problem in the region. There was even a bit of discussion about "banning Songkrahn" and China agreeing to help out by releasing extra water into the Mekong at this time.

Facing Mekong Drought, China to Release Water From Yunnan Dam
http://thediplomat.com/2016/03/facing-m ... unnan-dam/

China and the Mekong Delta: Water Savior or Water Tyrant?
http://thediplomat.com/2016/03/china-an ... er-tyrant/

Some are predicting rising food prices, food shortages, water wars and eventually the total collapse of civilization as we know it. Mix in the radiation still flowing out of Fukishima and the already-begun World War 3, in which several powerful empires will likely experiment with "limited nuclear conflict" and we're looking at the demise of humanity within the lifespan of our children.

Good luck everyone...

It is the same here, my whole property is heat stressed, mangoes generally produce fruit - this year virtually none - or nothing worth talking about.....

I am guessing it is the lack of rainfall and not the dam in the upper reaches that is the problem your way?

Drought in Ratanakiri, a land of lakes,rivers and waterfalls. Despite the recent population increase, there are f' all people living in Ratanakiri per km2. However, the forests are being cut to make way for rubber and palm oil, which need water of course.
The official comments here are funny in a clueless black humour kind of way:

“We don’t know what we’re going to do,” said Romang Thang, the chief of Soeung commune. “We don’t have enough clean water. There is not enough for us to drink or to shower.”

Provincial officials said they had no immediate plan for drought relief.

Neang Samath, chief of administration of the provincial government, said commune and district officials had been tasked in early February with collecting information about water usage in rural areas.

Kadom Sonavorn, director of the provincial department of rural development, said the provincial government had yet to receive that information, or put together a plan for addressing the present water shortage.

“We haven’t yet solved this problem. We don’t yet have clear information,” he said.

The provincial director of water resources, Chan Bunthoeun, said the problem was not unique to Ratanakkiri before hanging up on a reporter.

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/ ... rs-110781/

Yes, well...


That is pretty crap.... dig your own wells....??? ...............deeper??


??? terribly sorry to hear that fellas... I wish I could help.....

Let me know......

"That is pretty crap.... dig your own wells....??? ...............deeper??"

That solves your problem but by doing so you lower the water level of those people whose wells aren't as deep as yours.

viper wrote:"That is pretty crap.... dig your own wells....??? ...............deeper??"

That solves your problem but by doing so you lower the water level of those people whose wells aren't as deep as yours.

If your well is getting seepage water from a spring or a river and the river level falls , say one metre, and you dig your well deeper by ,one metre,, to access that river water,,,,, Then you are not lowering the water level for your neighbours. Their water levels stay the same until they dig deeper to access the same water supply you get your water from. Of course I am assuming that you are not taking one million litres a day .

siem reap is running dry now. a few years ago sihanoukville ran out of water. wonder how they are going now.
at least we have southwesterly circulation coming off the equator, a requirement for normal non ENSO weather.
hardly had any last year, even in the middle of the monsoon

No forest, no rain!