The Central Highlands is under threat of severe drought as the region has fallen short of water for production and irrigation even though the dry season has yet to enter its peak.

his photo features Bien Ho Lake in Pleiku City, Daklak Province. Water levels of lakes in the Central Highlands are 20-30% lower in previous years.  

Pham Vu Tuan, head of the Department of Hydro-meteorological Forecasting for the Central Highlands, explained protracted drought is hitting the region, where important crops and industrial trees including coffee are grown.

Tuan told the Daily that the rainy season started at the beginning of April last year, earlier than in previous years, and ended in October with total rainfalls of 1,500-2,000 mm, lower the average level of previous years.

Hot weather since early this year has taken its toll in the region with local lakes, rivers and streams drying up.

Tuan said the current water levels of reservoirs are 30-50% lower than their designed capacity and lower than the average of previous years.

At present, the water levels of hydropower dams are 2-9 meters lower than those of the same period last year while those of rivers and streams are equivalent to 70-80% of previous years.

Water shortages have started to wreak havoc on agricultural production in the region.

According to the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, crops in districts like Dak Po, Krong Pa, Kong Cho ro and Ayun Pa now severely lack water and a large swath of land has become dry. For instance, drought has destroyed some 22 out of over 120 hectares of paddy fields in Dak Doa District.

Statistics of the department showed drought had hit over 4,000 hectares of crops in the province as of early March and over 86 hectares of paddy had withered.

The Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting of Daklak said average temperatures in the 2014-2015 winter-spring crop are 0.5-1 degree Celsius higher than in previous years. The peak of the dry season may fall in April with the highest temperature forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius and rainfalls would be much lower than in previous years.

Tuan predicted there would be showers in late March or early April in the Central Highlands, but they could not ward off the drought situation in the region.

This year, severe drought in the region is forecast to last until the middle of May when it could start to rain, or ten days later than in previous years.