“We have to ensure that people will have water for consumption,” NCPO deputy spokesperson Colonel Sirichan Ngathong said yesterday.

She said General Teerachai Nakwanich, in his capacity as NCPO secretary-general, expected administrative officials, police and soldiers alike to help combat the imminent drought.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry’s spokesman Surapol Charuphong said that as of Tuesday, there were just 3,068 million cubic metres of disposable water in the four major dams of the Chao Phraya River Basin.

“Members of all sectors must now help save water,” he said.

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While this amount of water would be enough to sustain the basin until June, there is still a risk of water shortage. Experts have predicted that the rainy season will begin in late July at the earliest.