The national El Niño Outlook Forum in Vietnam was participated by representatives of the government, national research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the media.

Vietnam is experiencing its worst drought in ninety years as the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, one of the strongest on record, is impacting the country. Water shortages and salinity are severely affecting the agriculture sector, especially in the country’s Southern regions.

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in collaboration with the National Hydro-Meteorological Service of Vietnam convened a national El Niño Outlook Forum in Hanoi on 28 March to generate a dialogue on the response to the exceptional weather conditions. The forum was participated by various stakeholders, including representatives of the government, national research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the media.

Dr. Tran Hong Thai, Deputy Director General of the National Hydro-Meteorological Service, opened the forum emphasizing the importance of a continued dialogue between stakeholders to effectively respond to the evolving conditions.

ADPC’s Program Manager Mr. Atiq Kainan Ahmed facilitated discussions on measures to mitigate the record-breaking El Niño phenomenon’s impact in Vietnam.

ADPC’s Program Manager Mr. Atiq Kainan Ahmed provided a global and regional analysis on El Niño’s current status and its expected impacts, followed by national reports by Vietnamese forecasters. The forum discussed a variety of measures to be taken to mitigate El Niño’s impacts in different sectors in the country.

“In order to manage the risks caused by El Niño, we need to work together. Outlook forums involving forecasters, sectoral professionals and the general public are essential to generate seamless risk management measures on the ground”, said Mr. Ahmed.

The event was organized as part of ADPC’s ongoing regional program to strengthen weather and climate services in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Vietnam funded by the Norwegian government. It was the second in a series of national El Niño Outlook Forums in 2016, following a forum organized in Myanmar in February.

More information about the forum is available on the National Hydro-Meteorological Service’s website (in Vietnamese).

Media news broadcasts (in Vietnamese):

VTC14 news broadcast

VTV1 news broadcast (starting from 5:50)