The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has predicted that the unseasonable storms will continue until this Sunday.

Ministry spokesman Chan Yutha said the rainy season might arrive on the first week of May this year, a week earlier than in previous years.

Nop Polin, a program officer for humanitarian NGO Dan Church Aid Cambodia, commented that the recent, heavy rainfalls are “unpredictable and exceptional” amid the dry season.

According to Yutha, the weather forecast shows that low pressure from the South China Sea has met with high pressure originating from Southern China at the Mekong Delta, and the winds will move to Cambodia today, leading to medium to high levels of rain nationwide.

“The central lowland, northeast plateau and coastal areas might get a medium level of rainfall from Tuesday to Sunday,” he said.

Children make their way across the intersection of streets 15 and 130 in Phnom Penh's Riverside as a cyclo drives by.Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon

Chhinh Nyda, lecturer and researcher in environmental studies at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said that not only has the rain arrived early, but the rainfall amount has been higher than expected.

“If you look at the history, there was some rainfall during April too, especially during the second week [of the month]. However, right now . . . it is very early in April . . . there has been a lot of rainfall for the dry season period. Although we do expect rainfall, we do not expect this much rainfall,” he said.