CityNews – Chavalit Chookajorn, secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, chaired a meeting yesterday at Wing 41 Military Airport discussing solutions on how to solve the drought crisis in the north, June 24.
Representatives from both the military and the government attended.
During the meeting, it was reported that Chiang Mai’s Northern Thailand Royal Rain Operation Centre and Phitsanulok’s Northern Thailand Royal Rain Operation have flown planes that help create artificial rain 45 times since May 1.
The targeted areas had rain induced and benefited 15 provinces as a result.
However, the amount of rain formed from artificial techniques is not enough to cover all areas in need.
According to Chavalit, rain caused by the artificial rain operations have also helped fill the dams in the north of the country, but more action is required to sustain the currently decreasing water level.
Bhumibol Dam, located in Tak province is at a critical level, the lowest it has been in 51 years, with only 410 million cubic metres of water. However, the refilling of the dam must be postponed until renovation work on Tak airport is complete.
Officials decided to open another rainmaking centre close to Tak and the Bhumibol Dam in order to make water replacement easier.