Mr Somchit Amnatsan, chief of water management at the Royal Irrigation Department, told The Straits Times: "The situation is very bad compared to the last few years. This May, the rainfall upstream in the north was 55 per cent of the average. In the central region, it is 69 per cent of the average."
In Malaysia, officials have their eyes trained on the skies for cauliflower-shaped towering cumulus clouds so that rain-making operations can begin, the New Straits Times yesterday quoted a Johor official as saying. Two dams that supply to most of Johor Baru and Pasir Gudang industrial areas have breached critical levels .
Indonesia's Riau province is also looking to cloud seeding. Its capital Pekan Baru and some surrounding regencies have been shrouded in an acrid white smoke from forest fires that are common during the dry season or are lit deliberately to clear land for palm oil plantations. Water bombing operations are also being planned as fires continue to burn in Dumai, Pelalawan and other areas.
The worst appears to be over for Karachi, Pakistan's financial capital, where a devastating heatwave took more than 1,000 lives and sent 14,000 to hospital last week. Weeks earlier, more than 2,500 died in a heat wave that hit India.
For some of China's provinces, the coming days spell worry. A heatwave is expected in the southern parts, including Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangxi and Hainan, with soaring temperatures of up to 39 deg C .
In the US, families have been asked to mind the heat while celebrating Independence Day this weekend. In Europe, storms are forecast and will hopefully bring some respite before temperatures start rising again until next week.
•With input from Tan Hui Yee in Bangkok and additional information from Agence France-Presse and Bloomberg