Superstitious locals held a bizarre 'giant penis parade' to pray for rain amid a severe drought in Thailand this year.

Villagers in the central province of Kanchanaburi sculpted the massive wooden phallus known as a 'Palad Khik' meaning 'honorable surrogate penis' to beseech the gods for rainfall on June 12.

Forecasters have warned that rainfall will be five per cent lower than nornal due to the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Locals believe that whichever direction the penis is pointed, rain will fall in that area.

Manote Petchtang, 45, the sculptor of the giant penis, said many residents in Kanchanaburi relied on farming yams and corn for a living. They had to perform the ritual because the rain fell in the forests and mountains instead of their plantations, he said.

Manote said: 'The size of the penis matters for the locals, because a tiny organ will only have a limited effect on the weather.'

Palad Khiks are normally carved from small pieces of wood to be carried as charms to ward off evil spirits, but the large one placed along Highway 323 weighed a whopping 600 kilograms.

The statue - capped with a vivid red gland - makes a sharp angle towards the sky while flanked with two wooden stumps that served as testicles.

Manote said that to ensure their pleas for rain were heard by the Gods, he carved the humongous genitalia out of softwood, with a girth equivalent to 'the span of a person's embrace'.

The attention-grabbing statue was then stationed at an intersection, where it will periodically be rotated like a phallic clock. It is believed that wherever the glans points, rain will fall.

Manote added: 'A large portion of Kanchanaburi is dedicated to agriculture, but rain is often scarce. This ritual is a way to attract rain during the crucial farming season.

'I worked hard to make the Palad Khik huge because I want the ceremony to be effective. My cassava crops are already dying due to the lack of rain.'

The residents said that they plan to parade the wooden penis around the village to express their gratitude should the ritual work.

Thailand's Meteorological Department warned this month that total rainfall in 2023 will be approximately five per cent lower than the annual average, leading to potential water shortages and prolonged dry spells. It could also have devastating effects on agriculture leading to soaring food prices.