Thailand Becoming Hotter by Phairath Khampha 7 August 2002 Preliminary findings of a study by the Office of Planning and the Environment and the Thai Institute for Environment indicated that in the country temperatures rose between 1997 and 2002. This might eventually cause rising water levels and flooding in Songkhla, Surat Thani and Bangkok and possibly reduce the level of Thailand's principal river, the Chao Phya, by a third or more. The office recommended that Thailand sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which would be submitted to the National Environment Commission this month. Sirinthorathep Taoprayoon, an instructor at King Mongkut Institute of Technology, said the study found that the amount of carbon dioxide had doubled between 1997 and 2002, causing the rise in temperatures. The result was a serious drought in northeastern Thailand and greater humidity in the South and Bangkok. Citing a study released in 1997, Sirinthorathep said the overall rice production in Asia had decreased and new breeds of rice might be needed to withstand higher temperatures. Increased evaporation from major reservoirs like Srinakharin Dam might cause a shortage of water in five to 10 years, Sirinthorathep said, while stressing that the findings needed further study. World Wild Fund energy manager Wanan Permpiboon said changes in the world's climate patterns were due chiefly to the greenhouse effect, but who knows if this is true because although most scientists have conceded the earth is warming no one has been able to conclusively prove it is because of the so-called Greenhouse Effect. There are 77 signatories to the Kyoto Protocol so far. The European Union and Japan signed in June 2002. Russia and Poland said they would sign by the end of 2002. The United States, the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases, had signed the agreement but refused to ratify it. Wanee Sampantharak, deputy secretary-general of the Office of Planning and the Environment, said signing the protocol would demonstrate Thailand's willingness to cooperate in the problems of world climate change, and provide benefits such as negotiating power and participation in drafting provisions of the protocol, know-how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other related technology, and channels for foreign investment in clean development.