Mekong Delta’s sea level rise alarming: US professor
Rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta are becoming alarming, said Prof. David Dapice, Senior Economist, Vietnam and Myanmar Programme, Harvard Kennedy School, at a meeting with leaders of Can Tho city on October 8.
Dapice said a study released by Utrecht University in the Netherlands shows that the Mekong Delta is subsiding 2 – 3 cm and its sea level is rising by about 0.5 cm per year, while the region is just 80 cm above sea level. It is estimated that at these current rates, over 12 million people living in the region will be directly affected over the next 50 years if nothing is done, he said.
