[SingViet]

South Vietnam to suffer worst dry season in five years 11:52' 14/03/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Southern provinces are entering the peak of the dry season and the temperature in some places is forecast to reach 39-40oC.

In recent days the temperature in HCM City and some adjacent localities has reached 36-37oC during the day and over 26oC at night. According to an official from the Southern Hydrometeorology Station, Le Thi Xuan Lan, the temperature will continue to rise in the upcoming days.

In the next one month there will be two periods of fiercely hot weather, leading to the driest situation in the past five years, Ms Lan said.

According to Ms Lan, at present the water levels of rivers in the southeastern region is 30-40% lower than the average water level of previous years. Additionally, the rainy season may come later this year.

The prolonged dry season may cause more serious encroachment of sea water into fields in late April - early May this year, the highest level in the past several years, the meteorological expert said.

The reasons for this situation, according to Ms Lan, are El Nino and human mistakes such as deforestation, fast construction and more vehicles.

Experts are also worrying about great changes of weather in some other southern areas, for example Da Lat and Buon Me Thuot.