Due to dry weather in the north and hot weather in the south, forest fires are a great threat for many provinces in Vietnam.
On February 20, the Forest Management Agency released a forest fire warning for 18 regions in Vietnam. The most dangerous areas include: Tri Ton and Tinh Bien in the southern province of An Giang, Ca Mau province, Chu Pah, Duc Co, Chu Prong, Chu Se, Mang Yang in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai and Phu Quoc in the southern province of Dan Giang.
The hydro-meteorological station of the Central Highlands reported that this region will face its most serious drought in many years. Drought may spread on a wider scale in March and April when local rivers reach their lowest level for the year.
The reason, according to meteorologists, is the narrowing of forests, the reduction of underground water levels and the appearance of hydro-power reservoirs, which depletes water supplies in downriver areas.
Many major rivers in the Central Highlands like Ba and Se San are now at very low levels, around 0.5-1.5 meters lower than the same period of 2009, with no rain since the early part of the dry season.