Floods, droughts will attack Southeast Asia more rapidly

Climate change will make floods and droughts more frequent and more serious in Southeast Asia, threatening rice cultivation and the lives of tens of millions of people.

>>>Vietnam in a group threatened by seawater in Southeast Asia

More than 30% of the world's population lives in East Asia and Southeast Asia. About half of these people live on rice and other food crops. However, the World Bank predicts climate change will reduce 10 to 50 percent of agricultural production in East Asia and Southeast Asia in the next 30 years, National Geographic reported.

Some changes have been clearly seen. For example, higher sea levels cause the salinity level of the water in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam to increase. This situation forced a part of the people in the area to abandon their rice cultivation and switch to shrimp farming.

A flood in Thailand in 2011.

'Economically, people are benefiting from climate change as shrimp generate more money than rice. But only a part of the population is capable of raising shrimp. Some people are adapting to new circumstances, but many others are losing due to rising sea levels , 'said Matthew McCartney, an expert at the International Water Management Institute.

The United Nations and the International Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have predicted that sea level rise will increase the salinity of rice fields in the plains along the major rivers of Asia - including the Ganges and Rivers. Yangtze and Yellow River.

In the distant future, these changes force Asian countries to shift rice fields to other places, similar to Australia's grape farms moving to lower and colder areas to minimize adverse impacts. of climate change for grapes.

According to the United Nations, Vietnam is one of the five countries most severely affected by climate change. In March, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment announced the latest climate change scenario.

Scenarios for climate change and sea level rise for Vietnam are based on estimates of global greenhouse gas emissions, including low, medium and high scenarios.

Under the high emission scenario, by the end of the 21st century, the sea level rose from 57 to 73cm across the entire coastal strip of Vietnam. The sea level rose the most in the area from Ca Mau to Kien Giang, with the highest increase reaching 105cm. Scientists say the sea level rise is correct according to the scenario, about 39% of the Mekong Delta area is inundated and 35% of the population is affected.