"Vietnam's water resources are limited, and the population has grown four-fold in 60 years," said Nguyen Dinh Ninh, deputy director of the Agriculture Ministry's irrigation department.

He warned that Vietnam's population had rapidly grown from 20 million in the 1940s to 84 million now, reducing the water supply from 17,000 to 4,600 cubic metres per person per year in that time.

"We also lack water because of rapid socio-economic development," he said, stressing that water use had shifted from farming to industry and hydropower projects in Vietnam, which saw more than 8 percent economic growth last year.

Water flows in streams and rivers had declined, he said, as the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported that the water level in the Red River at Hanoi measured 1.53 metres (5 feet) Tuesday, the lowest mark in 100 years.

Ninh warned that the situation would worsen this year, as Vietnam is forecast to be affected by the El Nino climatic phenomenon which would likely bring lower rainfalls and shorten the rainy season.

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