Khon Kaen's Ubolrat Dam, the largest in the Northeast, now holds only 54 per cent of its capacity and the water level is dropping by a centimetre a day, said official Wichai Sae-ang.

However, the dam is still releasing 4.2 million cubic metres a day for farmers in the irrigation zone.

Other major dams in the Northeast are also running low, according to a report by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) on Thursday.

Siridhorn Dam holds only 56 per cent of its capacity, Chulabhon Dam 41 per cent, Nam Poong Dam 59 per cent, and the Pak Mool Dam just 22 per cent.

The Egat report also mentioned dams in other regions: Petchaburi's Kaeng Krajan Dam is at 49-per-cent capacity, Kanchanaburi's Wachiralong-korn Dam at 59 per cent, and Chiang Mai's Mae Ngad Dam at 51 per cent.

Sakon Nakhon's Nam Oon Dam has dropped to 49-per-cent capacity - the lowest in five years - prompting concerns among officials that there may not be enough water to support next year's agricultural growing season.

As a result, the dam has now stopped releasing water into irrigation canals through Muang, Phang Khone, Phanna Nikhom, and Waritchaphum districts.

Thirty-three other water sources in the province held on average 62 per cent of their capacity.

With prolonged periods without rain and water levels running low, 70,000 families in Kalasin are now suffering from water shortages.

Agriculture in the Northeastern areas has also been hit.

Milk production in Sakon Nakhon is down, and in Nong Khai rubber trees have withered away. Farmers in Ban Nadone in Tambon Makham Thao of Nakhon Phanom's Muang district have complained that their lichee fruit have not ripened yet.

Farmer Kanya Techo said the lichee usually ripened by April and fetched Bt70,000 to Bt80,000 per orchard, but if the ripening was delayed until May, the fruit risked being damaged in thunderstorms.

In Tambon Phang Kwang of Sakon Nakhon's Muang district, cows now produce 30 per cent less milk than usual, according to a group of 200 dairy farmers in Ban Nonsawan whose 1,800 cows supply the Phu Phan Milk Factory.

One farmer, Theera Buatharat, said he could only milk 15 of his 30 cows that were now pregnant and each cow was yielding only 8-11 litres of milk per day in recent weeks, compared to the usual 15-20 litres.

With temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Celsius, 10 per cent of Nong Khai's 600,000 rai of rubber plantation has suffered damage from water shortage, said Sathitpan Thammasathit, director of the Provincial Rubber Plantation Promotion Fund.

Meanwhile, Lampang's Kiew Lom Dam will stop releasing water for irrigation, as the water level is only 23 per cent of the dam's capacity, Sallek Khamjai, provincial disaster prevention and mitigation chief, said yesterday.

Another reason for the low water level is because the irrigation area in Muang and Jae Hom districts has increased from 1,461 rai in 2005 to 6,442 rai in 2007, he said.

Sallek said other water sources in Lampang were still at about 50 per cent of capacity and would hopefully catch rainwater in coming weeks.

The high temperatures have caused animals in Chiang Mai Zoo to suffer from stress, prompting officials to launch "cooling measures" that included spraying water, giving ice blocks to chimpanzees and building more shaded areas.

However, no animal has fallen ill from the extreme heat, zoo director Thanapat Pong-amorn said.