In almost every township in Mon State, increasing water scarcity compounded by unbearable power outages, is causing residents to grapple with myriad hardships in sustaining their livelihoods and other essential sectors.
The scorching summer heat, intensified by the El Niño climate pattern, has resulted in the complete drying up of wells and lakes in Mawlamyine, Chaungzon, Paung, Kyaikmaraw and Bilin townships in Mon State, further exacerbating serious water scarcity problems.
Mon State townships started feeling the effects of dwindling water resources around March, and by the end of April, as temperatures sharply rose, water shortage reached its peak level.
A Bilin resident expressed that this year's water scarcity has become an unprecedented crisis, with people even struggling to secure drinking water.
"The issue of water scarcity is enormous. This summer nearly all wells have dried up, leaving the town with an acute shortage of water. The scorching heat is the primary cause of this crisis, particularly impacting coastal regions where the shortage affects both drinking and cleaning water. Residents are forced to ration water strictly for essential needs like drinking and cooking, leaving little for bathing. Each household is now limited to just two buckets of water per day”, he told Than Lwin Times.
As a result of water shortages in Bilin, some people depend on water donations from benefactors. On days without donations, they resort to processing seawater for usable water.
An aid worker noted that while there were numerous donors during past summers with water shortages, the number has dwindled during the post-coup Junta rule due to rising fuel prices, increased transportation costs, and safety concerns in transportation.
"In the past, our social welfare groups collaborated to donate water to villages experiencing shortages. We used to bring big water trucks to distribute water to villagers. Back then, fuel prices were reasonable. But now, with high costs and transportation challenges, there are fewer donors”, he explained.
Those already dealing with water shortages now face added stress in their livelihoods due to severe, daily power outages. A resident of Mawlamyine revealed that the frequent and prolonged power outages every day are disrupting sleep at nighttime, during the current extremely hot season.
“Every day, electricity is only available for intermittent two-hour periods. Afterwards there is a long outage before another brief two-hour window. This situation brings significant hardship for everyone. At night, the intense heat makes it impossible for anyone to sleep soundly”, he said.
On April 21, the Junta announced that more power outages are expected nationwide in the coming days due to generators still unable to operate at full capacity because of low water levels in the Yeywa Hydroelectric Project, which supplies electricity across Myanmar, thus necessitating a heavy reliance solely on the Shweli Hydroelectric Plant for power generation.
As electricity output decreases, the likelihood of worsening power outages looms over southern parts of Myanmar, including Mon State, as well as Yangon, Ayeyarwaddy, and Bago regions. Mon State, this year marks the most severe combination of water shortages and power outages since the military coup.
