Risk of water shortage and saltwater intrusion in many areas
According to the assessment of specialized agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the ENSO phenomenon has shifted to El Nino state.
Statistical data in the past shows that El Nino is almost certain to end the rainy season early, causing a shortage of rainfall and water resources. This increases the risk of drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion for agricultural production and people's lives in the 2026-2027 dry season.
Areas at risk of heavy impact include the Mekong Delta, North Central Coast, South Central Coast and Southeast. However, specialized agencies also noted that El Nino can still cause extreme rain and floods.
Faced with the above risk, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment requests localities to develop and update plans for drought prevention and control, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion in the dry season 2026-2027 according to very high risk scenarios.
In which, saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta is required to be calculated according to a scenario equivalent to the 2019-2020 dry season; drought and water shortage in the remaining areas are equivalent to the 2014-2016 period.
Localities must fully identify the risks affecting agricultural production, rural domestic water, forest fires, aquaculture, animal husbandry and related fields.
Proactively storing water, ensuring domestic water for each household
One of the solutions emphasized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is to implement reasonable water storage at irrigation and hydropower reservoirs in the 2026 rainy season.
Reservoirs need to maximize the capacity of water storage according to the capacity of the project to serve the dry season, but at the same time must ensure the safety of dams, reservoirs, downstream areas and proactively prevent extreme rain and flood situations.
For agricultural production, localities are required to review and rearrange crop seasons, determine seedling times suitable to water source capacity, and avoid the time of drought and saltwater intrusion coinciding with the stage when crops have high water demand.
Notably, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment requests to proactively balance the ability to supply domestic water to each household, village, hamlet, and commune in areas that are frequently short of water.
People in areas at risk of drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion are encouraged to prepare water tanks, household water purifiers, water treatment chemicals and necessary equipment to be proactive in domestic water sources.
In addition, localities must regularly update information from meteorological and hydrological agencies and irrigation works management agencies to adjust response solutions to suit actual developments.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also requests to strengthen communication about drought and saltwater intrusion to commune-level authorities, people and relevant agencies through many forms such as websites, administrative documents, Zalo groups, emails... Information needs to be provided at the right time, at the right level, avoiding causing panic and extreme psychology.
