Central and southern regions may face serious drought

The National Centre for Hydro - Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) said that this rainy season was unusually dry and ended two weeks earlier than usual.

Le Thanh Hai, Director of the NCHMF, said apart from Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces, the monthly measurements of rainfall this year has sharply decreased in many other provinces in the central region. October and November, normally the most rainy months of the season, precipitation has been down by 70-90%.

The shortage of rain has water levels in rivers running 10-40% lower than previous years. By the end of November, the water level in hydropower reservoirs was 20-50% below capacity. Especially in provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai or Binh Dinh, the water levels were recorded 60-80% lower than usual.

The rainy season has ended in many localities in the central and southern regions so there would be no flooding in these regions, which might have improved the water level.

The drought may spread from Ha Tinh to Binh Thuan and occur at some other areas in central and southeast regions. The drought may also pose a risk saline intrusion in estuaries and coastal areas up to 40-60 km inland.

It was also forecast that Vietnam will have a warmer winter this year

(Dtinews)