The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has forecast the weather situation and saltwater intrusion in the South in the next 10 days (from April 21 - 30).
The Southwest region is sunny during the day, with hot sun in some places, and light rain in the evening and at night in some places. The highest temperature in the whole region is commonly from 31 - 34 degrees Celsius, in some places higher.
The water level of stations in the Mekong River basin changes slowly, upstream stations are lower than the multi-year average (multi-year average: 2012-2024) by 0.1 - 1m, midstream and downstream stations are higher than the multi-year average by 0.05-0.75m.
The water level on the Tien and Hau rivers fluctuates according to the tide. The highest water level of the week in Tan Chau is 1.35m, in Chau Doc 1.5m, at a level higher than the multi-year average of the same period from 0.05-0.2m.
The tidal water level at Vung Tau station (Ho Chi Minh City) from April 20-24, the peak tide tends to decrease, the peak tide level is about 3.6-3.8m taking place from about 2 pm to 4 pm daily. From April 15 onwards, the peak tide tends to increase, the peak tide level is about 3.5-3.6m, taking place from about 12 pm to 2 pm daily.
The tidal water level at Rach Gia station (An Giang province) from April 20-22, the peak tide tends to change little, the peak tide level is about 0.6-0.7m taking place from about 5 to 7 pm daily. From April 22 onwards, the peak tide tends to decrease, the peak tide level is about 0.5-0.7m, taking place from about 7 to 9 pm daily.
Regarding the trend of saltwater intrusion from April 21-30, 2026, saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta fluctuates at a high level in the first days of the week and tends to gradually decrease at the end of the week. The highest salinity at stations is lower than the highest salinity in April 2025, especially some stations in An Giang have higher salinity.
The salinity boundary depth of 4‰ at the main estuary is as follows:
Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay rivers: Saline intrusion range of 55-62km;
Cua Tieu and Cua Dai rivers: Saline intrusion range of 35-45km;
Ham Luong River: Saline intrusion range 35-42km;
Co Chien River: Saline intrusion range 35-45km;
Hau River: Saline intrusion range 35-45km;
Cai Lon River: Saline intrusion range 35-42km.
Localities need to take advantage of storing fresh water when low tide serves agriculture and people's livelihoods.
The meteorological agency assesses that saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta in the dry season of 2025-2026 will be lower than in 2024-2025 and the multi-year average.
Increased saltwater intrusions at the Mekong Delta estuary are likely to concentrate in April 2026 (from April 21-23); Vam Co and Cai Lon rivers in April and May 2025 (from April 21-23, May 1).
The warning level of natural disaster risk due to saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta is level 1. The saltwater intrusion situation in the Mekong Delta depends on water sources from the upper Mekong River, high tides and will still fluctuate in the coming time. Localities in the Mekong Delta region need to promptly update meteorological and hydrological forecast information and take proactive measures to prevent saltwater intrusion.
