The National Weather Service says Hawai‘i Island and Maui are experiencing “severe drought”….and warns the drought conditions may intensify around the islands this summer.  Drought is also plaguing parts of Southeast Asia—and that’s changing plans for a festival coming next month.  HPR’s Bill Dorman explains in today’s Asia Minute.

Every April brings a new year’s festival to Thailand.  It’s called “Songkran” and it’s celebrated with water—lots of it.  Originally, the idea was for people to sprinkle water on family members for good fortune, while paying respect to images of the Buddha.  That’s kind of changed over time.  Now it’s all about squirt guns…super soakers…buckets of water…hoses---dousing each other with water is a key part of the holiday activities. 

But this year, water is a problem—there’s not enough of it.  Thailand is in the midst of its worst drought in more than 20 years—and the dry season is expected to linger until August.

The deputy governor of Bangkok says the city is thinking about cutting the number of days for the festival—making it three days instead of four.  But visitors make up a critical part of Thailand’s economy—and the Malay Mail online reports the country’s Tourism and Sports Ministry wants to make sure travelers don’t cancel their vacation plans.

There are no plans for changes along a stretch of Bangkok popular with backpackers:  Khao San Road.  One local business leader says he doesn’t expect a lot of water to be wasted, because water guns are more popular—and he says that uses less of the precious liquid than people dumping buckets of water on each other.