In Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province, the air quality index (AQI) surpassed 1,100 over the weekend, while Indonesia’s Ministry of Health said more than 113,000 cases of respiratory infections had been recorded in seven provinces since the fires broke out earlier this year.
The heat index (HI) in nine areas of the Philippines was at “dangerous” level on April 15, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The Thai government is accelerating efforts to hold talks with its Cambodian counterpart to address transboundary air pollution, which is posing an increasing threat to the health of people in Thailand, as the dry season, is expected to be dryer and longer this year due to the El Nino phenomenon, gets underway.
Indonesia’s National Food Agency (Bapanas) head Arief Prasetyo Adi has stated that the agency aims to increase government rice stocks (CBP) to reach 3 million tonnes to maintain food security as instructed by President Joko Widodo.
Indonesia’s selection of Vietnam as a major source for its rice purchases has further solidified the position and quality of Vietnamese rice, said the Vietnamese Trade Office in Indonesia following a statement from an Indonesian official that Indonesia will import 1.5 million tonnes of rice from Vietnam and Thailand.
Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce is closely monitoring the global rice situation after India banned rice exports since July 20. In the meantime, ministry officials are confident Thailand will be able to export more than 8 million tonnes of rice this year.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) of Indonesia has warned about high risks of forest and land fires in many Southeast Asian countries as a result of dry conditions in the region.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on August 8 that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 5.5 percent in the second quarter, its slowest pace in four years.
PV Power, an subordinate company of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), reported positive business results in the first five months of this year despite difficulties the company faced in generating power.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, there are still complex developments in the remit of natural disasters in 2019 due to the impact of El Nino phenomenon.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment has told its rice farmers to refrain from planting crops as the country is in the midst of a drought heightened by record temperatures due to this year’s El Nino phenomenon.
Electricity consumption in the capital city was forecast to sharply increase this month due to extremely hot weather, said the Electricity of Vietnam Corporation (EVN).
The El Nino phenomenon in 2016 will cause freshwater shortage in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern areas, the National Hydro-Meteorological Service has said.
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the Ministry of Finance have submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to ask for rice supply to drought-stricken localities.
The southern coastal province of Ca Mau will need about 173 billion VND (7.7 million USD) for its plans on preventing drought and saltwater intrusion in the 2015-2016 dry season.
