Environment

Central region warned of drought

The central region is likely to face water shortage and even drought in May and several months after as rainfall in the region is forecast to be much lower than the average for the same period, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.
The central region is likely toface water shortage and even drought in May and several months after asrainfall in the region is forecast to be much lower than the average forthe same period, according to the National Centre forHydro-meteorological Forecasting.

However, thesituation will not be as severe as last year and is hoped to improve inlate August, the centre’s experts said.

Theyalso warned of lower water levels in most regional rivers, resulted inthe deep intrusion of sea water, while t he rainy season is expectedto come late this year.

The region already suffered fromwater shortage in the first four months of this year, with rainfalllevels dropping 50-90 percent this year compared to the first threemonths of last year. The situation was especially serious in thesouthern central provinces of Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and CentralHighlands localities, where many areas saw no rain at all.

Meanwhile, water levels in reservoirs have reached only 60-70 percent of their designed capacity.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked affectedlocalities to preserve water in reservoirs and dredge rivers, canals andwells to mitigate the impact of drought and saline intrusion.

The ministry has also asked the Prime Minister to order agencies tohelp the localities affected by drought and saline intrusion.-VNA

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