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El Niño causes erratic weather; 43 provinces face floods/drought risk. Water data upgraded.

El Niño causes erratic weather; 43 provinces face floods/drought risk. Water data upgraded.

MGR Online•Politics•19d ago

Reader Briefing

El Niño's erratic weather patterns put 43 Thai provinces at risk of both flooding and drought simultaneously, prompting the upgrading of national water data systems.

  • •El Niño is causing unpredictable weather, with 43 provinces facing a dual threat of floods and droughts.
  • •The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation is upgrading the national water data warehouse to 'Community Innovation' using supercomputers.
  • •This initiative aims to provide real-time data to local communities, organizations, and farmers for better risk management and disaster preparedness.

Overview

  • •The visit to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) occurred on May 6.
  • •El Niño is causing erratic weather patterns, leading to significant challenges in water management.
  • •43 provinces are at risk of facing both floods and droughts concurrently.
  • •Farmers and local administrative organizations need real-time data to plan and manage disasters effectively.
  • •The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation is upgrading its water data warehouse to 'Community Innovation'.
  • •The upgrade is to utilize supercomputers and a network of 12 universities to address flood and drought issues across all 76 provinces.
  • •The updated water data will be made accessible through the thaiwater.net website and the ThaiWater mobile application.
  • •Flood and drought risks are projected for the next six months (May-October 2026).

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Key Quotes

ศ.ดร.ยศชนัน วงศ์สวัสดิ์
"In this crisis of variability, even though the average rainfall may be less than normal, it doesn't mean it will be severely dry with no water. This is a crucial opportunity to quickly communicate to the public and local agencies to store water during the rainy season as much as possible."
ในวิกฤตความแปรปรวนนี้ แม้ปริมาณฝนเฉลี่ยอาจจะน้อยกว่าปกติ แต่ไม่ได้แปลว่าจะแล้งจัดจนไม่มีน้ำ นี่คือโอกาสสำคัญที่เราต้องเร่งสื่อสารให้ประชาชนและหน่วยงานในพื้นที่เตรียมเก็บน้ำในช่วงที่มีฝน ให้ได้มากที่สุด

Key Entities

Person

Yotschanan(ยศชนัน)ℹ️
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, who is commenting on the impact of El Niño.
Watcharaphol Khaokam(วัชระพล ขาวขำ)
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, present during the visit to GISTDA.
Danupon Punnagan(ดนุพร ปุณณกันต์)
Assistant Minister to the Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, present during the visit to GISTDA.
Sriyada Palimapan(ศรีญาดา ปาลิมาพันธ์)
Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, present during the visit to GISTDA.
Sueksit Srijomkwam(ศึกษิษฎ์ ศรีจอมขวัญ)
Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs, present during the visit to GISTDA.
Chathrin Janhom(ฉัตริน จันทร์หอม)
Secretary to the Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, present during the visit to GISTDA.
Kobsak Pootrakool(กอบศักดิ์ ภูตระกูล)
Chairman of the Board of Directors of GISTDA, who welcomed the delegation.
Roybon Rasmithath(รอยบุญ รัศมีเทศ)
Director of GISTDA, who welcomed the delegation.

Organization

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA)(สถาบันสารสนเทศทรัพยากรน้ำ (องค์การมหาชน))ℹ️
An agency that presented forecasts and showcased technologies related to water resource management.
thaiwater.net
A platform developed by GISTDA, used for analyzing water forecasts and risk predictions.
Science, Research and Innovation Promotion Fund (SRIPF)(กองทุนส่งเสริมวิทยาศาสตร์ วิจัยและนวัตกรรม (ววน.))
A fund supporting the research and development of water management and sustainability.
Universities(มหาวิทยาลัย)
Twelve universities are collaborating to build human resources and systems for provincial water management.
Ministry of Agriculture(กระทรวงเกษตรฯ)
Collaboration is underway with the Ministry of Agriculture to plan dredging of water sources.
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM)(กรมป้องกันและบรรเทาสาธารณภัย (ปภ.))
Coordination with the DDPM is planned to identify high-risk disaster areas in advance.
ThaiWater Application(แอปพลิเคชัน ThaiWater)
A mobile application providing real-time water status, rainfall forecasts, and risk assessments.