Disasters
Drought
When the river runs dry
Cambodia’s silent heartbeat is slowing. On the banks of Cambodia’s largest lake, fields that would normally be flooded with rich water lie fallow under the sun. Inches from the stagnant water, painted eyes stare from the prows of garish boats, their pilots sifting through baskets ...
Evie Breese
River of no return: Mekong faces grim future
The Mekong River is again striking record lows, threatening crop production, fish stocks and the livelihoods of 70 million people amid rampant over-development and dire warnings. But this year’s drought, the second in three years, could mark a turning point and a bleak future.Scientists, backed ...
Luke Hunt
Drought, water shortages pose a big threat
Professor Trần Thục, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Meteorology and Hydrology, told the Voice of Việt Nam (VOV) online newspaper that Vietnamese central provinces are likely to suffer from severe drought and salt intrusion in the 2019-20 dry season. Is Việt Nam included in the list of countries ...
Mekong runs dry as politics, business fail local communities
“The most disastrous situation in history,” was one expert’s stark verdict when shown images of the dry Mekong River bed and dead aquatic animals. Dr Chainarong Setthachua, a lecturer and ecology expert at Maha Sarakham University, was at a loss when asked to describe the ...
Piyaporn Wongruang
Mekong River at its lowest in 100 years, threatening food supply
A severe drought that has caused water levels in Southeast Asia’s Mekong River to drop to their lowest in more than 100 years could have devastating consequences for fish, as well as the tens of millions of people living and working along the river, experts warn. The ...
Stefan Lovgren
Severe Drought in Mekong Region Reduces Rice Planting in Laos
Lao farmers have planted rice on less than half the country’s cultivable land this year because of a persistent drought in the Mekong River region that has seen severely reduced water levels and the delay of seasonal monsoon rains, which have yet to begin. Growers have ...
Record Mekong water shortage raises concern over Chinese dams
By this time of year, the Mekong River should have been rising steadily with the monsoon rains, bringing fishermen a bounty of fat fish. Instead, the river water in Thailand has fallen further than anyone can remember and the only fish are tiny. Scientists and people living ...
Vietnam braces for severe impact of Mekong River’s record low water levels
The Mekong River’s water level during this year’s early flood season, from June to July, is among the lowest on record, according to the Mekong River Commission (MRC), with experts warning of impending consequences on the upcoming dry season in Vietnam. Water levels in the Mekong ...
Don grateful to China, Laos for opening Mekong dams
Arthayudh Srisamoot, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, had spoken to Chinese Ambassador Lyu Jian and Laos Ambassador Seng Soukhathivong on Tuesday following a media outcry about farmers suffering and the Mekong River running dry. “This severe drought is a natural problem because we have had ...
Aquatic life faces extinction as upstream dams leave Mekong River dry
The Mekong River’s extremely low level of water caused by upstream hydropower dam projects has triggered the death of masses of fish and heightened the risk of mass extinction of aquatic life in the entire Mekong River Basin, environmental experts highlighted on Friday. They said that ...