A view of the Red River which has dwindled to its lowest level in 107 years because of the dire effects of El Nino

Looking at the Red River’s dry bed, Tran Van Dien felt depressed thinking about his cargo boat which was moored at the dock for the last few days.

The Red River, along with other rivers in the north, normally dries up in February or March, going down to around one meter, but this year it has receded sooner and more dramatically.

Its level frequently dropped to under a meter since November. On November 18 it was 0.76 meters in Hanoi, the lowest level recorded in the last 107 years, Dang Ngoc Tinh, head of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF)’s Northern Office for Hydrography Forecast, said.

On December 14 the water level in Hanoi was 0.88 meters, the lowest level in December since 1902, he said.

People are able to walk across the river. In some areas, children play on the riverbed.

Dien, worried about the risks of collision and running aground, does not dare to sail the vessel but has to pay interest on his bank loan of nearly VND1 billion (US$55,560) that he paid for the boat.

Nguyen Huy Quang, owner of a shop selling stone and sand for construction, said supply has become scarce since fewer vessels carrying the materials from the northern Viet Tri and Ha Nam provinces are able to reach Hanoi by the Red River.

The ones that still ply carry small volumes of goods, he said.

“As a result, the prices of sand and stone have gone up by 30 percent from a few months ago. Our business is suffering though it is now the construction season,” he said.

The prices would continue to rise if the dry spell prolongs, he warned.

Nguyen Thi Lan of Bach Dang Street in Hanoi said people in her area now have to use water from the bottom of the river near the Long Bien Bridge piers.

Only beginning

Tinh, the meteorologist, said the situation is mainly due to the El Nino effect, which causes droughts on a large scale. The northern region has not experienced heavy rain for several months.

The rainfall this year was only 70-80 percent of normal, with the rainy season ending a month too early, and the volume of water in the flood season was less than usual, he said.

The high temperatures increased evaporation, he added.

Upstream, hydropower plants in China and Vietnam have been storing water since August but some major reservoirs in northern Vietnam face a serious shortage. But the dry season has just begun, Tinh warned.

“Major rivers may see a 30-40 percent shortage from February to April next year. This month it might be 50 percent.”

It could seriously affect water transport and irrigation for the winter-spring rice crop, which is scheduled to begin in January next year, he added.

Dam Hoa Binh, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Irrigation Department, said: “The risk of drought during the upcoming winter-spring crop is very high.”

The ministry has suggested that farmers in the north cultivating rice on 30,000-50,000 hectares at higher altitudes should plant other crops that need less water this winter-spring, he said.

But it would also meet with monopoly power supplier Electricity of Vietnam and the National Hydrometeorology Forecast Center to discuss increasing the release of water from dams for irrigation, he said.

Tinh said hydropower reservoirs are expected to release a total of two billion cubic meters of water on three occasions starting January 26 next year.

Reported by Bao Van