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‘Super’ El Niño doomsday prediction for agriculture by Krung Thai Research

10 Sept 13:06 Key points summarised by AI

Krung Thai Research Centre forecasts a 'super' El Niño will inflict over 110 billion baht in damage to Thailand's agriculture and cause a 0.51% GDP contraction in the worst-case scenario.
The increasing frequency of severe El Niño events (every three years) prevents agricultural recovery, with impacts anticipated from late this year into early next.
Major crops like rice, sugarcane, and tapioca face substantial output reductions, with rice alone potentially losing 9.74 million tonnes, valued at 75 billion baht.
The agricultural sector, a heavy water consumer, is vulnerable due to critically low reservoir levels and farmers' reduced fertilizer use, further exacerbating production declines.
Recommendations include upgrading risk management, farmers adopting drought-resistant crops, and the government developing early warning systems and climate risk databases for long-term resilience.

Today 14:58 Key points summarised by AI

Thailand's government will launch the "Chainat-Pasak-Gulf" water diversion canal project in fiscal year 2027, a seven-year mega-infrastructure initiative.
This permanent structural solution aims to mitigate recurrent central plains flooding by diverting water from the Chao Phraya River directly into the Gulf of Thailand, significantly reducing flow to major cities like Ayutthaya and Bangkok.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul justifies the long-term investment as a means to reduce future damages and fiscal burdens, contrasting it with the 40-50 billion baht spent annually on short-term flood relief.
Concurrently, the Prime Minister instructed officials to expand drainage capacity into the Tha Chin River and swiftly remove water hyacinths to improve immediate flood management.