BANGKOK, MAY 1 (TNA) — Drought was spreading in many provinces and affecting people and farm animals that need fresh grass and water.
In Nakhon Ratchasima province, farmers of Ban Nong Ai Hook village in Non Teng sub-district of Khon district had to herd their cattle for a distance of about two kilometers to a field where their animals could only graze dry rice stems and drink murky water. Farmers said drought was severer than the past.
In Maha Sarakham province, a 10-rai water pond that usually fed tap water production in Borabue district dried up for the first time in 50 years. More than 1,000 people of Nong Muang sub-district ran out of water and many of them could not afford to buy it. Local administration organizations were distributing water to the people.
In Ubon Ratchathani province, the water level in a pond for tap water production was only one meter deep. Local officials and soldiers were dredging the pond amid concern that about 8,000 local residents and a hospital in Sam Rong municipality would suffer water shortages.
In Nan province, officials located 23 new hotspots in six districts. Most of them were in forests. The fire resulted from field burning and people looking for forest products. Particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter measured at 66 micrograms per cubic meter of air in the past 24 hours exceeding the safe threshold at 50mcg. (TNA)
