Mekong River at its lowest in 100 years, threatening food supply

This is where our community discusses almost anything! While we're mainly a Cambodia expat discussion forum and talk about expat life here, we debate about almost everything. Even if you're a tourist passing through Southeast Asia and want to connect with expatriates living and working in Cambodia, this is the first section of our site that you should check out. Our members start their own discussions or post links to other blogs and/or news articles they find interesting and want to chat about. So join in the fun and start new topics, or feel free to comment on anything our community members have already started! We also have some Khmer members here as well, but English is the main language used on CEO. You're welcome to have a look around, and if you decide you want to participate, you can become a part our international expat community by signing up for a free account.
User avatar
Kung-fu Hillbilly
Expatriate
Posts: 4152
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 11:26 am
Reputation: 4963
Location: Behind you.
Australia

Mekong River at its lowest in 100 years, threatening food supply

Post by Kung-fu Hillbilly »

Image

By Stefan Lovgren
July 31, 2019

..experts expect that droughts and disruptions to the water flow of the Mekong will become more common, and they warn that it could eventually lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem

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.

Few rivers in the world rise and fall with the seasons as much as the Mekong, which can drop up to 40 feet in some places at the end of the dry season. When the monsoon rains arrive, they normally produce a flood pulse that brings with it sediment essential to agriculture as well as enormous amounts of larvae and tiny fish, including many critically endangered species such as the Mekong giant catfish, that are swept into the Tonle Sap Lake and other floodplains where they can mature.

China’s decision to halve the water released from its Jinghong Dam for two weeks in July, due to “grid maintenance,” is believed to have contributed in large part to this year’s historically low water levels in the Mekong River. ...“This highlights underlying inequities among Mekong basin countries,” says Sarah Null, a professor at Utah State University in the Department of Watershed Sciences.

Full https://www.nationalgeographic.com/envi ... shortages/
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: EmpatheticUnicorn and 1250 guests