Over the past decade the Mekong delta region has seen a net loss of one million people due to the new climate regime
Tag: drought
Southeast Asia’s poor versus China dams on the Mekong
China has the upper hand over a resource that serves as the economic lifeblood of its poor southern backyard.
Landslides in Mekong Delta could lead to serious flooding
There are 562 landslide spots in Mekong Delta with total length of over 786 kilometers, according to the General Department of Disaster Prevention and Control.
China Is Weaponizing Water
Each year, during China’s rainy season, downstream nations are on high alert as Chinese dams release water to ease pressure with little warning.
Climate change is already disrupting lives in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
Climate change its causing flooding and droughts that damage agricultural land in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.
Vietnam’s dry season to be severe this year: experts
Mekong Delta farmers experienced the worst dry season in history in 2016, and are now facing another severe season in 2017
Is Vietnam in for Another Devastating Drought?
Right now in coastal provinces around the Delta, thousands of farmers, especially those who miserably suffered during last year’s historic drought, are mobilizing to prepare for another similarly devastating drought, which is expected to arrive in the Delta in a few weeks.
Drought: Hydropower’s Achilles Heel
Drought: The news has been full of it.
Fish are disappearing from markets from Zimbabwe to Vietnam because of it. Kenyan barristas are making “camelcinos” because drought has made cow milk scarce. And in India, men from some villages are even finding it hard to get wives because the water shortage makes them look like a bad bet.
Across Asia, Africa and Latin America, the rains are not falling – they’re failing.
But drought is no longer just a concern for farmers; it’s increasingly becoming a major humanitarian and political issue, particularly in hydropower-dependent countries.
Southeast Asia’s Rivers Run Dry
The dry months before the monsoon rains arrive are often tough for Cambodian fishermen and farmers. But with rivers drying up and drinking water running out, conditions have rarely been as bad as they are now.
The current drought is linked to El Niño, which has been disrupting weather patterns around the world. But the harsh conditions today might only be foreshadowing far worse to come, climate scientists say. Climate change is expected to continue to affect the Mekong Basin region, while future droughts are expected to be exacerbated by a string of major hydropower dam projects.
Experts fear that the present crisis could become the new normal for Cambodia and its neighbors, which have also been hit hard by record temperatures and a long period of extremely dry weather.
Mekong Dams Not Cause of Drought
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday disputed the idea that water shortages along the Mekong River have been exacerbated by two massive hydropower dams being developed by Laos, saying the drought currently afflicting much of mainland Southeast Asia was caused only by “the sky.”