On June 25, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung signed Official Dispatch No. 43/CD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister, ordering the urgent implementation of emergency measures to prevent and combat forest fires.
The dispatch states that intense heat is currently affecting provinces across the Northern and Central regions. Many forests have reached Level V forest fire warning, the highest and most dangerous level under the country's five-tier fire warning system.
According to a summary report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, since the beginning of June 2026, prolonged hot weather has triggered 25 forest fires, destroying more than 90 hectares of various types of forests in the provinces of Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Phu Tho, Quang Tri, Hue and Quang Ngai, among others.
One of the most serious incidents occurred from June 21 to 23 in Thien Nhan Commune and Van An Commune, in the Khanh Son area of the former Nam Dan area, Nghe An Province. Local authorities mobilized nearly 1,000 people to contain the blaze.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment's specialized agencies, El Nino is likely to emerge from late June, increasing the risk of extreme heat, unusual storms and widespread drought. Nationwide temperatures are forecast to remain 0.5 degrees Celsius -1.5 degrees Celsius above normal, while total rainfall in many regions is expected to be 10 percent-25 percent below the long-term average.
Some localities from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai could record temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. In the coming days, widespread heat is expected to persist across northern and central Vietnam, with the possibility of severe and exceptionally severe heatwaves. The heightened forest fire risk could result in damage to forests and the environment while threatening people's health, property, lives and livelihoods.
To proactively prevent and combat forest fires and minimize losses, the Prime Minister ordered chairpersons of provincia and municipal people's committees to take full responsibility for forest fire prevention and firefighting within their jurisdictions. They were instructed to remain fully vigilant, treat the task as a top and continuous priority, and assign personnel to maintain round-the-clock duty in accordance with regulations.
Local authorities were also instructed to closely monitor weather forecasts and forest fire warnings to coordinate response efforts and mobilize firefighting forces from neighboring localities when necessary.
The Prime Minister tasked the Minister of Agriculture and Environment with maintaining forest fire forecasting and warning systems, ensuring timely dissemination of information through mass media and official command channels nationwide, while accelerating the application of technology in forest fire prevention and suppression.
The Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security were instructed to proactively prepare forest firefighting support plans in areas where their units are stationed and stand ready to deploy personnel and equipment to assist firefighting operations upon request.
