Environment

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday urged authorities in the country’s south-central region and Central Highlands aeras to prepare long-term measures to cope with the current severe drought.

Under the impact of El Nino, Mekong Delta has to suffer from severe drought and salt water intrusion. The areas that could have been under severe drought and saltwater intrusion are 104.731ha, which account for 10.9% cropped areas of coastal region and 6.7% cropped areas of winter-spring rice crop in Mekong Delta. 

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is facing the most severe drought and salinization in nearly a century, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The serious conditions have occurred only once in the last 90 years, the ministry said at the conference in Can Tho City on Wednesday.

In last December, due to the influence of cold weather causes mountainous districts of Ha Giang province to low temperature (-2 to 0 ° C), especially in some communes of Xin Man district the temperature is down to - 40C, appeared snow and sleet across the board.