Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Lê Công Thành speaks at a ceremony in response to World Meteorological Day 2019 was held in the northern port city of Hải Phòng on Saturday. — Photo baovemoitruong.org.vn

HẢI PHÒNG — A ceremony in response to World Meteorological Day 2019 was held in the northern port city of Hải Phòng on Saturday, calling for actions to protect human lives and assets in the context of increasingly frequent extreme weather phenomena. 

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Lê Công Thành said this year’s event – themed “Celebrating the Sun, Earth and Weather” – highlights the irreplaceable role of meteorological agencies in observing the solar system and providing weather forecasts as well as information on climate change. Thành urged organisations to join hands in weather forecasting work to prevent and mitigate damage caused by natural disasters.

A discussion themed “Sun, Earth and Weather – Our actions” was held in the framework of the ceremony. It reviewed the significance of meteorological activities to the country’s development and pointed out challenges to the sector.

A ceremony was also held to recognise Phù Liễn meteorological station as one of the world’s few observation stations to be more than 100 years old. It was set up on September 16, 1902. Last year, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) add it to the list of centennial observation stations as it fit a number of criteria, operating in line with WMO standards and having provided continuous data for more than 100 years.

Typhoons

Việt Nam will likely have to cope with 10 to 20 typhoons and tropical depressions this year, of which four or five will directly affect central areas, the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration (VMHA) warned in a conference. The conference was held in Hải Phòng on Friday to review typhoon prevention measures from last year, and set up plans for this year.

VMHA said this year’s typhoon season will be later in the East Sea and there will be fewer typhoons and tropical depressions than in previous years.

Hot weather will appear sooner with average temperatures from April to September across the country 0.5-1 degrees Celsius higher than previous years.

The dry season in the central and southern areas is forecast to last until August, and the central area faces a high risk of drought.

Last year, Việt Nam was hit by 13 typhoons and tropical depressions as well as 43 flash floods, causing losses of VNĐ20 trillion (US$862 million). As many as 218 people died or were missing due to the weather events, according to domestic press.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta dealt with its most serious drought in at least 100 years in 2016. Dozens of thousands of hectares of rice died and more than 100,000ha of rice had serious losses.

The Mekong Delta is considered Việt Nam’s granary, making up more than 55 per cent of the whole country’s total rice productivity, 70 per cent of the fruit productivity and 69 per cent of its aquatic products, according to the Southwestern region Steering Committee. — VNS