We finally got a pretty good rain a little over a week ago, which allowed farmers to get some, but not all, rice paddies transplanted.
The rain was spotty, so some places still haven’t gotten any rain — and here, it was only that one day, and no rain since.
This is the first time it’s ever happened in recorded history that the monsoon rains have been so late in coming, and it looks like they might not come at all.
Maybe this is just a one-year thing, but nobody’s betting on it. The rainy season has gotten shorter and shorter over the past 30 years. This is not only in Laos, but in the whole region. Vietnam and Thailand, major rice exporters, may not have enough rice for their own populations this year.
The Lao government keeps 10% of a year’s consumption in reserve, and has already begun to release that reserve to make up shortages from last year’s short crop.
If we’re not going to get any rain, I’m going to start leaving my raincoat at home. ;>)
On the other side of the world, Lake Superior’s surface temperature is 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.
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