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Famed Thai holiday isles suffer water shortages after heat wave
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Famed Thai holiday isles suffer water shortages after heat wave

AFP

BANGKOK—The dazzling Thai holiday islands made famous by Hollywood film “The Beach” are facing a severe water shortage following a blistering heat wave across Asia, a tourism official and locals said Thursday.

The Koh Phi Phi archipelago, off the west coast of southern Thailand, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to its pristine beaches and turquoise waters each year.

But a deadly heat wave that has sent temperature records tumbling across the region in recent weeks—as well as a prolonged spell of low rainfall—has seen reservoirs run low.

“The private company that provides water to the islands may have to stop the supply,” Wichupan Phukaoluan Srisanya, president of the Krabi Hotel Association, which represents hotels in the area, told AFP.

Island authorities have discussed shipping in water from the mainland if the dry weather continues, she said, but would hold off in the hope of the wet season arriving in May.

“But we want to assure tourists who are planning to visit the islands that we can manage this,” Wichupan added.

This picture taken on October 4, 2019 shows a sailor walking in front of long tail boats moored on a beach on Phi Phi Don island in the Andaman Sea. The dazzling Thai holiday islands made famous by Hollywood film “The Beach” are facing a severe water shortage following a blistering heatwave across Asia, a tourism official and locals said on May 9, 2024. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP).

Residents who asked not to be named told AFP they had suffered fresh water shortages for months, and said some hotels had limited bookings as a result.

And online posts by returning tourists warned travelers to “check if their accommodation has fresh water” ahead of their stay.

Nothing from the tap

One wrote on review site TripAdvisor that “tap water has stopped running,” as island water reservoirs had been dry since the end of April.

Scientists have long warned human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and more intense heat waves.

While the El Niño phenomenon is helping drive this year’s exceptionally warm weather, Asia is also warming faster than the global average, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.

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Local tourism operators have repeatedly called for long-term water supply investments for the Koh Phi Phi islands, which lack sufficient reservoirs and infrastructure.

In the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Samui—another hugely popular tourist island—has been experiencing similar dry, hot weather but the local tourism board said visitors had not been impacted.

This picture taken on October 28, 2021 shows tourists walking through Ton Sai village in Phi Phi island. The dazzling Thai holiday islands made famous by Hollywood film “The Beach” are facing a severe water shortage following a blistering heatwave across Asia, a tourism official and locals said on May 9, 2024. (Photo by Candida NG / AFP).

“We have enough from a water truck, but it increases the cost of running hotels by three times more,” the president of Koh Samui Tourism Association Ratchaparon Poolsawadee told AFP.

The extreme recent heat has blasted Asia, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain.

For around a week in April, Bangkok authorities gave daily extreme heat warnings as the heat index—which takes into account other factors including humidity—topped 52 degrees Celsius.


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