MAE to refine policy on hydrometeorological management

The conference was chaired by Director General Nguyen Thuong Hien, with the participation of Deputy Directors General Dang Thanh Mai and Hoang Duc Cuong, representatives of affiliated units, and an online connection with regional and local hydrometeorological stations nationwide.

In the first six months of 2026, VNMHA focused on refining its system of legal normative documents to ensure assigned tasks stayed on schedule. According to Nguyen Tran Linh, Chief of the Administration's Office, all dossiers were completed on schedule for submission to the Ministry and the Government. Notably, the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 113/ND-CP and Decree No. 219/ND-CP, thereby completing the legal framework and strengthening the effectiveness of state management in the hydrometeorological sector.

In addition, the Administration conducted a review of the implementation of the Law on Hydrometeorology, completed the policy-proposal dossier for the draft (replacement) Law on Hydrometeorology for submission to competent authorities, and reviewed and compiled a report on the overall review of the sector's system of legal normative documents.

Alongside institutional development work, the Administration issued a plan to inspect compliance with hydrometeorological law in four provinces: Cao Bang, Nghe An, Da Nang, and Dak Lak. Administrative procedure reform was also strengthened, with all procedures now processed electronically, and hydrometeorological forecasting and warning operational licenses successfully integrated into the VNeID application as required.

In the area of forecasting and disaster prevention, the hydrometeorological sector closely monitored and issued timely warning bulletins for numerous dangerous weather phenomena, including 2 tropical depressions, 13 cold spells, 10 heat waves, 1 widespread heavy rain event, 2 flood events on rivers in the northern region, and 50 flash floods and landslides across 17 midland and mountainous provinces.

The Administration proactively implemented Official Telegram No. 15/CD-TTg from the Prime Minister regarding responses to saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta and to drought and forest fires in the South Central Coast and Southeast regions. The unit also successfully provided weather information in support of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the elections of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term.

The Administration also reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on forecasts for El Nino in 2026-2027, providing preliminary assessments of potential impacts and proposing an impact-based forecasting technical framework to support disaster risk management.

Regarding the observation station network, the Administration directed units to fully prepare backup equipment, conduct technical inspections ahead of the rainy and storm season, maintain international data connections in line with World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards, and begin research on building a centralized monitoring system for the entire national station network.

At the conference, Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, said the center had issued 3,222 forecast and disaster warning bulletins, reaching 41.7 percent of the annual plan while maintaining technical quality.

To strengthen disaster response capacity, the Center proposed four groups of priority tasks: reviewing technical procedures to make them more flexible for fast-moving disasters; standardizing data sources from automatic stations; coordinating on reports detailing hydrometeorological characteristics to support socioeconomic planning in 34 provinces; and detailing warning bulletins down to the commune level using high-resolution base maps.

Offering feedback at the conference, Deputy Director General Hoang Duc Cuong called for accelerating the development of a detailed list for the medium-term public investment project, speeding up the progress of bidding packages to avoid a backlog at year-end, and seeking international funding sources to strengthen digital communications.

Deputy Director General Dang Thanh Mai requested that units complete science and technology tasks on schedule in accordance with Resolution 57-NQ/TW, and urgently address gaps in observation data ahead of the rainy and storm season. She also called for strict implementation of data digitization.

Delivering closing remarks at the conference, Director General Nguyen Thuong Hien commended the results achieved across the sector in the first six months of the year. Looking ahead to a demanding second half of the year as the rainy and storm season begins, the Director General asked units to proactively propose solutions to practical obstacles.

Work on completing legal normative documents should proceed using a "backward planning" method to stay on schedule for submitting the (replacement) Law on Hydrometeorology in May 2027, and the report on the overall review of the sector's legal normative document system should be completed for submission to the Ministry before October 25, 2026.

In particular, the Director General called for serious research and implementation of the conclusions of General Secretary and President To Lam at Notice No. 117-TB/VPTW dated July 4, 2026, aimed at improving the quality of forecasting and information dissemination and driving a strong shift from phenomenon-based warnings to detailed, impact-based warnings tailored to specific localities. In the period ahead, VNMHA will continue to closely monitor disaster developments nationwide and accelerate technological modernization, with a focus on providing early assessments of the El Niño phenomenon and the risk of water shortages during the 2026-2027 dry season to support socioeconomic development.