PM urges measures to cope with the risk of heat, drought and saltwater intrusion

ABO/NDO- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just sent a dispatch requesting the Ministers and Chairpersons of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities to actively and drastically direct and implement urgent solutions to prevent and combat drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion, as well as to ensure production in key fields.

According to a report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, from the beginning of the year, the total rainfall nationwide has been at a lower level than the average of many years; currently, the water level in many large reservoirs is very low. In some large reservoirs, the amount of water stored is short of tens to hundreds of millions of m3.

The Meteorological Office, the UK's national weather service has predicted that 2023 will be one of the hottest years on record. With the shortage of water sources at large reservoirs, and the high probability of El Nino phenomenon in the second half of 2023, there is high risk of severe heat, drought, and water shortage in the coming time, especially in the Central, Central Highlands, and Southeast regions.

Illustrative image.

Faced with the above situation, the PM requested ministers and chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and cities to proactively direct and drastically implement urgent solutions to prevent and combat drought and water shortage, saltwater intrusion, to ensure production in key fields.

Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and cities, especially provinces and cities in the Central region, Central Highlands, and Southeast, should organize propaganda and guide people to proactively store fresh water and use it effectively, save water and electricity, and thoroughly prevent water loss and waste.

Necessary measures should be devised to store water and prevent salinity; speed up construction progress to soon complete and put into use irrigation and water supply works; installation and operation of field pumping stations; extending water pipelines to connect water sources from urban areas to serve rural areas; transporting domestic water for residential areas, schools, hospitals, medical facilities in areas where water sources are not guaranteed.

Based on the specific situation of water source and water supply capacity, the cropping season and crop structure should make appropriate adjustments while local budgets should be allocated to implement urgent solutions to prevent and combat drought and saltwater intrusion.

(Source: NDO)