Drought threatens to put a dampener on Thailand’s Songkran festival as authorities seek to conserve water
- The annual festival is known as the world’s biggest water fight, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists, mostly to Bangkok and other cities
- Festivities in Bangkok will be on a smaller scale because of preparations for the coronation of Thailand’s new king
A worsening drought in parts of Thailand has prompted monks and conservationists to appeal to city dwellers to temper traditional New Year celebrations, which are marked by people throwing large quantities of water at each other in the streets.
The dry season is more acute than usual because of the El Nino climate pattern, the meteorological department has said, and more than a quarter of the country’s main reservoirs have reported low water levels.
The drought situation is “quite serious”, said Pimchanok Vonkorpon, a commerce ministry official.
But there is little evidence of it in Bangkok, where shops are hawking large, colourful water guns and buckets ahead of Songkran, which runs from April 13 to 15.
The annual festival is known as the world’s biggest water fight, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists, mostly to Bangkok and other cities.
“In the rural areas, the suffering is more obvious, and monks include the message of water conservation in their teachings,” said Somboon Chungprampree, executive secretary for the International Network of Engaged Buddhists in Bangkok.
“It is harder to deliver the message in the city, especially to well-to-do residents and tourists. Often, it is the poorer farmers who bear the burden of drought,” he said.