Nation feels effects of global climate shift

As global warming causes changes in the world’s wind and water patterns, Viet Nam is beginning to feel the effects. Former President Tran Duc Luong urges awareness and action to head off the destruction of natural disasters.

Earlier this year, the World Bank released the report "The Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis" written by a group of economic and developmental experts, headed by Sushmita Dasgupta.

The analysis showed the oceans would only have to rise 1m to endanger the lives of millions living in lowland or coastal areas around the world.

Japan's Ministry of Environment announced it would spend US$64.5 billion to respond to rising sea levels, partly due to the earth's melting ice caps. The Japanese believe if the seas rise, 90 per cent of the country's beaches will eventually be swallowed up and rice production will shrink by 50 per cent. The country advised China to consider building a "new Great Wall" of dikes along its entire coastline.

And though it hasn't happened yet, there is no doubt that sea levels are continuously rising, a trend our very own scientists can attest to.