ccording to Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention andMitigation, the drought negatively affected at least 7.6 million peoplein 59 of the country’s 76 provinces. According to Kuankajorn, Thaiswho lived in the north, particularly Chiang Rai, were “in big trouble” because they could not fish, a vital source of income and protein. Jeremy Bird, head of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), added,“It is really a question of very low water levels for communities,drinking supplies for agriculture, and for livestock.