PHNOM PENH, April 11 -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that the country is facing severe drought and expresses his hope that China will continue releasing water into downstream Mekong River.

"China understood the difficulties of downstream Mekong River countries and had released water two times already into the Mekong River," the premier said in a speech during the inauguration of premises at a Buddhist pagoda in southern Prey Veng province.

He said during the 1st Lancang-Mekong Cooperation leaders' meeting last month, the leaders of the five downstream Mekong River countriesMyanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnamexpressed profound gratitude to China for releasing the water into the Mekong River.

"I appeal to China to continue discharging the water to the downstream Mekong River," Hun Sen said.

Meanwhile, the premier reiterated his calls on farmers to save water for public consumption as annual rainy season, which always starts in early May, will delay until mid-July due to the impacts of El Nino.

"Currently, some ponds, lakes, canals and reservoirs have dried up, so provincial governors and water resources department officials must try to look for the sources of water and pump it into reservoirs for daily use," he said.

Oum Ryna, director of the Meteorology Department at the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, said last month that almost every province in Cambodia is facing some level of drought, but only a few provinces were facing a severe shortage of water.

According to a weekly weather forecast released by the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology on Monday, the maximum temperatures will be up to 39 degrees Celsius in highland areas and 40 degrees Celsius in plain areas from April 11 to 17.