Tapping groundwater resources as drought season looms

Beating the heat: A tiger playing in water to cool off amid the hot weather at a zoo in Chiang Mai. — Reuters

FACING severe drought as it enters its hottest season, the country has launched groundwater extraction operations in its most arid regions to tap sources deep beneath the soil, as it looks at ways to harness future supplies.

The groundwater department has sent geologists and more than 80 teams to areas not served by irrigation networks and regions typically hit by shortages as dam water levels are depleted.