Authorities in the southeastern province of Binh Phuoc are tightening measures to prevent forest fires in the dry season as prolonged heat has occurred since the beginning of the year. 

More than 43,500 ha of forest in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau is at high risk of fire during the existing dry season, which began in November and will last until the end of May.

Saltwater intrusion has affected many fruit growing areas in the Mekong Delta as local farmers struggle to secure irrigation water for their orchards.

The southern region, including HCM City, is suffering from a heat wave which is predicted to peak in late March and early April, according to the Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station.

As many as 12 industrial fires have occurred at wood processing factories in HCM City and the neighbouring province of Binh Duong this year, causing major losses of tens billion of Vietnamese dong and hundreds of jobs.

Along with Mekong Delta, the central region will suffer prolonged drought and saline intrusion during the rest of this year’s dry season, experts warned.

Nguyen Quoc Tri, director general of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, talks about the dangers of forest fires during the dry season.

Little rainfall is forecast across the country in March and April, the remaining months of the dry season, particularly in the central region, said Vu Duc Long, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.

Many hydropower plant reservoirs in the central region are facing water shortages, impacting electricity generation and water reserves for the ongoing dry season from February until July.

Though saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta was predicted to come earlier and with higher level of salinity than that recorded in the 2015-2016 dry season, the damages to farming areas are expected to be less serious.

It is now the flood season in the Mekong Delta, but people there have already begun to worry about saline intrusion in the upcoming dry season.

There is a high risk of drought in the central and south-central coastal provinces as the dry season is forecast to extend to August and even September of 2019, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF).

The Southern Institute of Water Resources Research has asked farmers and irrigation management units in the Cuu Long Delta region to store water in ponds and canals for the dry season this year.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A number of provinces across the country including Lai Chau, Nghe An and Tay Ninh are taking precautions to prevent forest fires as the dry season begins.

Half of the farming area on Ly Son Island, 30km off the coast of Quang Ngai Province, has been salinised in the early dry season this year, reducing coverage of the key crop purple onion from 170ha to 50ha.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) provinces are taking measures to ensure that 2.56 million hectares of forests are not affected by fire during the peak of the dry season.

 VietNamNet Bridge – While the backbone of Vietnam’s electricity remains hydropower, the State-owned Electricity Viet Nam (EVN) says power supply will be ensured for the coming dry season.

Though the peak time of the dry season has yet to arrive, the water level on the Red, Thai Binh and Day Rivers has been decreasing, posing a risk of water shortage for hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Climate change has a huge impact on HCM City’s water resources, the head of its public water utility has warned.