Mekong River water level rise barely discernible in Vietnam

Water levels in some sections of the Mekong River have only increased slightly in the last seven days though China has claimed consistent excess outflow from the Jinghong dam.

The outflow at Jinghong hydrological station rose from 786 cubic meters per second on February 15 to 1,020 cu.m per second after a week, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said in a press release on Monday.

This contrasted with a statement by China’s Ministry of Water Resources earlier month, which said that the outflow at Jinghong had consistently exceeded 1,000 cu.m per second since the end of January.

The MRC says the discrepancy between outflow estimates could stem from different methods being used to calculate discharge at the Jinghong station.

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Viet Anh