Cambodian Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology Thor Chetha said ASEAN has emerged as a hotspot for the impacts brought on by the changing climate such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves.

Over the past few weeks, long-lasting extreme heat waves have affected people all across the country, making especially it difficult for those working outdoors.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 8 signed an official dispatch asking competent officials to take proactive response to ensuring sufficient fresh water supply for local residents in the Mekong Delta region which has been hard hit by prolonged heat waves and saline intrusion.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRC) Central Committee on March 18 launched a campaign to support people seriously affected by droughts and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta – the “rice bowl” of Vietnam.

The Mekong Delta may experience sooner and even more serious droughts and saltwater intrusion in the 2019 – 2020 dry season, compared to the situation in 2016 when historic saline intrusion was recorded, an official has said.

The Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has attributed the recent droughts in the country to direct impact of climate change and global warming around the world.

Salinity and droughts will come earlier and be more severe than in the 2018-2019 dry season in the Mekong Delta, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Salinity and droughts will come earlier and be more severe than in the 2018-2019 dry season in the Mekong Delta, according to Hoang Phuc Lam, Vice Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Climate risk management, covering climate risk insurance, is playing an increasingly important role in preventing and mitigating losses caused by climate change, experts said at a workshop in Hanoi on April 8.

Experts shared information on smart water management policies and technologies for sustainable development during a workshop in Hanoi on August 8.

A clean water supply plant has been inaugurated in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, benefiting 1,550 households in An Truong commune, Cang Long district.

The agro-forestry-fishery sector of the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre should aim for an increase of two percent in 2017, said Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Lap.

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has begun the construction of three sluices in Go Cong town this June in a bid to control saltwater intrusion.

Lao governmental offices and mass organisations have raised 257,000 USD to help Vietnamese people in the southern region overcome losses caused by recent serious droughts.

Experts have proposed the construction of five to seven dams along the Hong River to raise the water level, thus serving agricultural production and water transport without affecting flood drainage.

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) on March 18 decided to grant financial support worth 23 billion VND (over 1 million USD) for 16 localities hardest hit by droughts.

The central region and the Tay Nguyen Central Highlands will see even more severe droughts and water shortage this year compared to 2015.

The northern and north central region is likely to have cold weather during the Lunar New Year holiday, which last from Feb. 6 to 14, while fair weather is forecast for the southern region.

Thailand plans to produce about 25 million tonnes of rice in the 2016-2017 crop instead of the normal production output of between 31-32 million tonnes in the last periods.

Vietnam is home to 53 ethnic minority groups with a population of nearly 14 million, who mainly live in remote mountainous, midland and coastal areas that are vulnerable to natural disasters.