BANGKOK, 3 MARCH 2013 The Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation has kicked off this year’s royal rainmaking operation to help alleviate drought and haze crisis in the Northern region.
The royal rainmaking operation has commenced since March 2 in the Northern part of Thailand to at help ease drought, forest fire and haze crisis. The operation will also be carried out in all other regions to increase water level in major dams throughout the country.
The artificial-rainmaking will continue until October with a total of 34 aircraft from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Royal Thai Air force to be used in the operation.
Meanwhile, the drought situation in the North has become more severe, particularly in Lamphun Province where 8 districts have been declared disaster zones.
At the same time, the haze situation in Chiang Rai Province continued to worsen, resulting in poor visibility in the area. The latest level of dust particles in the province was recorded at 126 micrograms per cubic meter, which exceeds the standard level of 120.
In Mae Hong Son province, the crisis is seemingly similar as many parts of the city remain covered by haze. Locals continue to suffer from smoke haze, caused by forest fires from neighboring countries.
