Update for May 20-26
Notable changes on the Mekong in the last week.
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SPOTLIGHT
Early Wet Season Rains Are Relieving Drought in the Mekong
What a difference a week makes! Comparing the two maps it is easy to see
that the basin was much wetter (blue-green) last week compared to two
weeks ago. Much of the dry season drought (red-orange) has now
dissipated with spots persisting in Yunnan, the Golden Triangle, central
Laos, and the Tonle Sap floodplain.
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Where is the water?
Dam operations throughout the basin caused a moderate release of water
(810 million cubic meters) last week which resulted in higher river
levels than what natural flow would bring. The most significant releases
came from Huangdeng (PRC, 431 million cubic meters), Nam Ngum 1 (LAO,
157 million cubic meters), Nam Ngum 2 (LAO 142 million cubic meters),
and Theun Hinboun Expansion (LAO, 173 million cubic meters). The largest
storage dams are reaching the bottom of their active storage and will
likely soon begin to fill again with wet season rains. This will result
in lower river levels than what natural flow would bring.
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Most Impactful Dams
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River Levels
In the Golden Triangle along the Thai-Lao border, river levels are lower
than normal. From Vientiane to points downstream, river levels are at
normal or slightly higher than normal levels for this time of year.
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Chiang Saen Gauge
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Stung Treng Gauge
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Weather & Wetness
There continues to be higher than usual snow cover in the Mekong’s
headwaters, and some of this is melting and flowing into the river.
Higher than average wetness around the Lao-Myanmar border is also adding
to the river’s natural flow. Pockets of severe drought remain in
Yunnan, the Golden Triangle, central Laos, and the Tonle Sap Floodplain.
But drought conditions previously observed in northeastern Thailand and
throughout much of Cambodia largely abated as the rainy season began.
Vietnam’s delta remains wetter than normal for this time of the year,
largely due to irrigation.
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