The flood tide of the Hau River could rise by 0.8-1m in the next 20 years. At that time, Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta, might be submerged in water, experts say.

Hoa Binh Street, Can Tho City in flood.

According to the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, Search and Rescue of Can Tho city, the flood tide of the Hau River in Can Tho increased by 4cm annually between 2004-2007.

In 2007, the highest flood tide reached 2.03m. As Can Tho is only 0.6-0.8m above sea level, there were deep floods on many major streets. If the flood tide continues to rise at the current pace, by 2030, it will be 0.8-1m higher. At that time, the entire city of Can Tho could be underwater.

Sea water encroaching upon mainland

In the dry season, the volumes of the Tien and Hau rivers fall sharply. They were 2,500cu.m/second 30 years ago and dropped to 1,600cu.m/second in 2006, a reduction of 36%.

When the volume of fresh water declines, sea water encroaches further. In April 2004, water with the salt concentration of 0.01% was just 15km from Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho’s hub.

The Centre for Natural Resource and Environmental Observation of Can Tho city forecast that by 2050, 1.01% salt water will infiltrate into the hub of Can Tho city at a depth of 0.5m and this situation could last for several months/year. Meanwhile, fresh-water fish and rice can’t survive in water with 0.04% salt or higher.

The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) reported that from 1975-2005, the temperature in Asia increased by 0.6oC. During that time, Can Tho’s temperature rose by 0.5oC.

Can Tho officials on February 25 met with some international organisations to discuss solutions to cope with climate changes.

Can Tho will cooperate with the UK-based Challenge to Change (CTC) and the multi-national Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET) to conduct a survey of the city’s vulnerability and ability to cope with climate change.

The survey will be carried out from March to May, 2009, firstly in the two districts of Binh Thuy and Vinh Thanh.

On December 2, 2008, the government approved a national programme to counter climate change. The programme will be carried out till 2015, at a cost of VND1.965 trillion ($115.58 million).

VietNamNet/TP