People in Thailand are being advised to brace for the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon from July until September, which could see a reduced amount of rainfall, by as much as 10% compared to last year, depending the severity of the weather condition, according to Somkuan Tonjan, director of the Central Weather Forecast subdivision of the Thai Meteorological Department.

Temperatures haves increased since the beginning of this year, with Mueang district of Tak having peaked at 44.6oC, which is equivalent to the temperature recorded in 2016.

He predicted that the coming months will be even warmer,due to fewer rainy days this year, with the rainy season expected to end in August. If there are one or two tropical storms, he said that the amount of rainfall this year may be 5% less than last year, as he warned that Thailand will experience a water shortage as levels in the country’s reservoirs are expected to drop sharply.

Over the past 70 years, the world has experienced five super El Niño phenomena, which impacted the weather in Thailand, namely in 1972-73, 1962-63, 1991-92, 1997-98 and 2015-16.

The world has also encountered super La Niña in 1954-56,1973-76, 1988-89, 1997-98, 2014 and 2020-22.