Drought, water shortage and saltwater intrusion are affecting agricultural production in some areas of the Central and Central Highlands regions. According to the Department of Management and Construction of Irrigation Works, in the North Central region, there are currently about 1,850 hectares of summer-autumn crop cultivated area 2026 that are locally water-deficient. Among them, Nghe An is the locality most affected with 1,628 hectares; Quang Tri has 150 hectares and Hue City has 72 hectares.
Localities are implementing many drought prevention measures to maintain irrigation water sources and limit damage to crop areas. Meanwhile, the situation in the South Central Coast and Central Highlands coastal areas is also complicated. Hot weather has caused water sources at many small reservoirs to decrease, while saltwater intrusion on the Vinh Dien River at times affects water intake activities for production.
The entire area had to postpone or extend the crop season for about 1,575 hectares of rice. Khanh Hoa has the largest area to adjust the crop season, with 909 hectares; followed by Da Nang 327 hectares, Quang Ngai 218 hectares and Dak Lak 121 hectares.
Notably, in the eastern area of Dak Lak province, prolonged hot weather has caused some high-lying fields, located at the end of the canal, to fall into a state of drought. About 808 hectares of rice have been affected, including 440 hectares belonging to the Bac canal irrigation station area, 122 hectares belonging to Phu Xuan irrigation station and 246 hectares belonging to Tuy An irrigation station.
Faced with the above situation, the locality has organized irrigation pumping to combat drought, prioritizing water supply to high-lying field areas and the end of the canal system.
The Department of Irrigation Works Management and Construction also assessed that the risk of drought and water shortage is still present during the remainder of the dry season, especially in the event that hot weather continues to last.
In the North Central region, it is forecast that about 4,000 - 6,000 hectares of crops may be affected by drought and water shortage. Localities in the risk zone include: Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri and Hue City.
Meanwhile, in the South Central Coast and Central Highlands regions, drought, water shortage and saltwater intrusion may affect about 2,000 - 3,000 hectares of crops from now until the end of the season.
Among these, Da Nang has about 500 - 1,000 hectares located in the risk zone; Quang Ngai about 1,000 hectares and Dak Lak about 500 - 1,000 hectares.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung - Head of Construction and Irrigation Management Department - Department of Management and Construction of Irrigation Works said that so far it is not possible to accurately confirm the extent of El Nino's impact on water sources serving agricultural production in the 2026 - 2027 dry season. The actual impact depends greatly on the developments and total rainfall in the 2026 rainy season, the amount of water stored in reservoirs, as well as the flow to production areas, especially the Mekong Delta region.
It is worth noting that if there is a shortage of rain and reservoirs do not store enough water before the dry season, the risk of drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion in the 2026-2027 dry season will increase. Therefore, instead of just waiting for weather developments, the irrigation sector is proactively building water source scenarios for each region, each province and each production season and is strengthening the implementation of "pre-disaster" actions to increase proactiveness in preventing and combating drought and saltwater intrusion, especially forecasting and storing water from the rainy season..." - Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung said.
