A mother and her child keep warm with jumpers and hats in Phnom Penh. The Kingdom will see a drop in temperature by the end of December. Heng Chivoan
The Kingdom will see a drop in temperature by the end of December, which will last longer than in previous years, according to Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology forecasts.
Ministry spokesman and secretary of state Chan Yutha told The Post on Wednesday that while weather in the central low land areas remains unchanged, in the plateau areas – Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri provinces, located next to the Dangrek mountains – temperatures are gradually cooling.
He said that after December 25, the Kingdom will see its coldest temperatures. The cool weather will last until the end of January or early February – longer than in previous years.
Yutha urged people living in mountainous and plateau areas – especially armed forces deployed along the Cambodia-Thailand and Cambodia-Vietnam borders – to pay more attention to their health and prepare essential items for the cool weather by the end of December.
‘Dry air to remain until May’
National Committee for Disaster Management spokesman Keo Vy said cool weather generally brings dry air, which requires the preparation of water for personal consumption, as well as for rice plantation irrigation in the dry-season.
Vy said that the ministry’s meteorologists predict the dry air will remain until May next year, while water in dams and reservoirs recedes.
“Normally, after the cool weather, [we experience] dryness. Now hundreds of hectares of people’s dry-season rice plantations in some provinces – such as Battambang and Prey Veng – are in need of water.”
To combat water shortages, ministry officials on Tuesday worked with the Battambang provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology to find more water sources for irrigation in three districts facing the most severe shortages – Thma Koul, Moung Russey and Banan.
The officials decided to repair and deepen some irrigation systems.
These included a natural creek located in Thma Koul district used for irrigation across communes; Boeung Porng canal in Moung Russey district used for irrigation in Prey Touch commune; Sre Thmey canal in Banan district used for irrigation in Ta Kream commune; and Ta Kuy canal in Thma Koul district used for irrigation in Bonsai Treng commune.
