Water resources
Surface water
Mekong Takes on Bluish Tinge as Water Levels Again Fall
Water levels in the Mekong River have fallen to “worrying” levels since the start of this year, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said last week, as the region heads into a third straight year of below average rainfall. In a statement on February 12, the Mekong ...
Sebastian Strangio
Mekong water level drops putting 60 million people at risk
The level of the Mekong River has fallen to “abnormal” levels, threatening the livelihoods of 60 million people living along its lower course. The river starts in China and winds its way for 4,350 km, crossing Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is vital for the ...
Tran Hung
Sand beach in Mekong River reopens, brings local economy to life
A popular sandy beach on an island in the Mekong River has been reopened to visitors, to the delight of local businesses, after being closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. The reopening last week of Had Hae beach, in tambon Nam Kam, ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Mekong River at 'worrying' low level amid calls for more Chinese dam data
Water levels in the Mekong River have fallen to a “worrying level” in part due to outflow restrictions from Chinese hydropower dams upstream, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Friday, calling on Beijing to share all of its water data. The vital waterway has turned ...
Kay Johnson, Panu Wongcha-um
In Cambodia, this village shows even the wealthy are vulnerable to land grabbing
The river view behind the house was broad and serene, a wide expanse of the Mekong flowing just past the newly occupied villa. A pretty sight, and prime real estate too. So when the sand pumping crews showed up just after the housewarming party late last ...
ANDREW HAFFNER
Mekong Turns Blue, Again
Thailand’s space development agency has released the satellite photographs showing the water color of the Mekong River has turned to blue-green, while the river has been experiencing unusually dry again since early this year. The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency or GISTDA has released the ...
B.Tribune
Marijuana seized on Mekong river bank
A patrol of the Mekong Riverine Unit seized 635 kilogrammes of compressed marijuana on the bank of the Mekong river in Tha Uthen district in the small hours of Monday. The patrol spotted a pickup covered with canvas on the bank of the Mekong river near ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Water Levels Drop, Fail to Rise Again on Mekong River Along Thai-Lao Border
Water levels on a stretch of the Mekong River along the border of Thailand and Laos, already low because of equipment testing at China’s upriver Jinghong Dam, have failed to rise again, raising concerns in communities living downstream, sources say. Chinese authorities at the end of ...
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Thailand challenges Laos dam building spree on Mekong River
Activists gathered Saturday in Paris to support people exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, after a French court examined the case of a French-Vietnamese woman who sued 14 companies that produced and sold the powerful defoliant dioxin used by U.S. troops. Former journalist Tran ...
MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR
Why is Laos building Mekong dams it doesn't need?
Thailand’s economic slump during the coronavirus pandemic led to a drop in electricity demand, with Thai officials estimating power reserves currently at 50% over total capacity. However, despite the Thai surplus, hydroelectric dams are still being developed next door in Laos, Thailand’s top provider of electricity. Critics say the dam projects are not driven ...
Emmy Sasipornkarn
