Vietnam urges Mekong Delta countries to take measures to cope with drought and salt intrusion, Tonle Sap in Cambodia in danger

Vietnam’s  Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a directive on the implementation of solutions to cope with drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, which is forecast to be harsh in the coming dry season. 2022 is forecast to be a year of water shortage in the Mekong River basin. Reports from the ministry show that the flood water in the Mekong River Delta is currently at approximately the average level of many years.

Tonle Sap in Cambodia, an important source of additional water for the Mekong Delta in the dry season, is now at a level lower than the average of many years in the same period of about three billion cubic metres. The average total water storage capacity of upstream hydropower reservoirs is currently at 80 per cent of design capacity.

The ministry said it was likely that reservoirs upstream would limit water discharge during the first months of this dry season. Therefore, the flow on the main part of the Mekong River would decrease rapidly. The amount of water entering the Mekong Delta in the first months of the dry season in 2021-22 was likely to be lower than the average level and change according to the operation of hydropower reservoirs upstream.

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