“The southwest monsoon usually begins sometime between mid- to late April or early May, depending on the year, but this year we expect the rains to come late,” Sorot Sawatdiraksa, a meteorologist at the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), based at Phuket International Airport, told The Phuket News.
“This year El Nino is not so strong, already making the amount of rainfall we have had this year less than in the past few years,” Mr Sorot said.
“In past years, normally the first of the rains come in April, but this year it will not. It is more likely to come later, at the end of April or May,” he added.
The past two months have been especially dry compared with recent past years, with the Phuket Met recording a total of 7mm of rainfall in Phuket Town and 7.1mm at the airport.
“The water issue must be considered by the Phuket Governor and other officials. They will hold meeting about this on Monday (Mar 25),” he said.