Thailand
Climate change impacts
It takes only 85 days for the average Canadian to produce as much greenhouse gases as the average Thai will produce over the course of the entire year. Therefore, March 26th (85 days into the year) is "Climate Change Impacts in Thailand Day."
Climate change threatens to affect Thailand in several critical ways including increased temperatures, floods, droughts, severe storms and rising sea levels. The potential for dramatic change in regional weather patterns places Thailand’s rice crops at risk and threatens to submerge Bangkok within 20 years.
For more information regarding the challenges Thailand is facing, visit the Climate Institute's website.
Story
"My name is Doungjun Roongruang, and I am 31 years old. Growing up in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand’s easternmost province (600 km away from Bangkok), was peaceful and quiet. Back then, my parents ran a small ice delivery business and my father would go to the ice manufacturers every morning to distribute ice orders to various restaurants and kiosks.
Both my parents are diligent working class people. With the profit they make from delivering ice, they were able to support a family of six. Now I work as a Global Environment Facility Team Programme Assistant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangkok. Working for a development organization with environmental programmes has really opened my eyes to the climate change crisis around the world.
Normally, the 'winter' begins in mid-November, but now it only starts in December or January. The season is now shorter and not as cold as it used to be. You could say that there is no longer 'winter' in Thailand!"
To continue reading Doungjun’s story about climate change in Thailand, visit WWF’s Climate Witness page.
Photo credit: Doungjun Roongruang
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