Southeast Asia drought leads to scaled-back water festivals

The Thai government mandated that Songkran and its famous water wars be shortened by one day due to the ongoing drought.

On Wednesday, Thailand's Department of Disaster Mitigation said 27 out of 76 provinces were disaster zones due to drought, up from the previous week's total of 23.

The department deployed more than 350 trucks to bring water to the hardest hit among the 4,354 villages in the declared disaster zones.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he would not ban water fights but would ask citizens and tourists to temper their celebration in the face of the drought.

In Myanmar, authorities in the two largest cities of Yangon and Mandalay have imposed restrictions to reduce water usage by half during the Thingyan water festival.

Several areas of Myanmar, including Yangon's townships and central Mandalay, have faced water shortages since January.

Conditions are likely to persist until the rainy season starts in June, said Tun Lwin, a retired Myanmar meteorology and hydrology expert.

"I welcome restrictions to reduce the water usage during Thingyan festival," Tun Lwin told dpa by phone. He warned that ongoing conditions could spell "serious" problems for the country, including pandemics of drought-related diseases.

The ongoing drought in Cambodia is also expected to worsen, the government said. Limited rains during last year monsoon's season, blamed on El Nino, have created water shortages across the country.

Siem Reap, home to the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex, is expected to draw 1 million tourists to its Angkor Sangkran festival.

Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director for Greenpeace International, said traditional dry periods caused by El Nino havebeen compounded by climate change.
- DPA