However, in Cambodia, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has issued its second long-term weather forecast for 2023 – and it says hot weather will continue until mid-May, later than expected, and with less rain anticipated than in 2022

It said weather patterns were being impacted by the El Nino heat phenomenon, which is currently transitioning between El Nino and La Nina. The resulting heat is expected to last until well into August.

As a result, the rainy season will arrive in the second week of May, later than 2022, with only light to moderate and scattered rainfall. From August to September, only light to moderate rainfall and partly moderate rainfall is expected.

Importantly, the Cambodian ministry added that rainfall is expected to be “20 percent to 30 percent lower than the average for many years,” which effectively means a return to drought conditions.

“In the rainy season of 2023, Cambodia will face the risk of a dry season that can last from early July to early August,” the ministry said.