Mekong Delta parched in aftermath of 2019 El Nino

Parched fields, cracked earth and dry water channels are nothing unusual in the Mekong Delta, which is facing yet another drought this year.

Hai Phuong wakes up at 4:30 a.m. every day and makes his way to the field. 

The 45-year-old in Tran Hoi Commune, Tran Van Thoi District, Ca Mau Province, has done so for the last 15 years as a farmer. But one morning this month he saw the water level in a canal in front of his house had dropped by nearly a meter. It had happened in a single night.

The same thing happened again over the next few days with the result he could get little water despite running his pumps at full throttle. 

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Hoang Hanh, Cuu Long, Hoang Nam