Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Closer to Sea than Previously Thought: Study

A group of scientists from Dutch Utrecht University recently discovered that Vietnam’s Mekong Delta has an “extremely low mean elevation” of around 0.8 meters above the seawater level, state media reported. That is dramatically lower than the 2.6 meters assumed earlier from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Shuttle Radar Topography Missions data. Dutch Utrecht University estimated that at current rate of subsidence, the delta could see seawater covering the 0.8 meters within 57 years, which means requiring over 12 million people, who are living in to-be- inundated areas following a rise of one meter, to relocate. That figure is double the number predicted earlier of more than five million people, following satellite data analysis. In a study released last December, the World Wildlife Fund said the Mekong Delta is subsiding by 2.5 centimeters a year. The region, which spreads over 40,577 square kilometers and is currently home to 21.49 million people, is one of the largest and seemingly lowest delta plains in the world. (VnExpressEnglish, Tuoi Tre, khoahocdoisong, VTC, Bao Dat Viet, VNReview, Tri Thuc VN, vietnamhoinhap)