VietNamNet Bridge
1 December 2014
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta faces a possible shortage of freshwater for next year’s rice crops due to drought and a worsening of saltwater intrusion in the coming dry season, according to the Southern Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Its prediction is based on higher temperatures this year accompanied by below-average rainfall and declining water levels in major rivers.
The rainfall between December and April 2015 would be much below average while the temperature would be 0.5-1 degree Celsius higher than normal, the centre also forecast.
Speaking at a recent seminar in Dong Thap Province, Tran Dinh Phong, deputy head of the centre’s Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Management Division, said floods in the delta were low this year and the water levels in major rivers were significantly reduced compared to previous years.
Seawater is likely to encroach 40-50km inland from rivermouths, or twice this year’s levels, he warned further.