Bangkok is Sinking?

Scientists are predicting that global warming and the slow but inevitable rise of sea levels will soon lead to the streets of Bangkok becoming flooded far more often than not.

Since most of the capital is only, on average, 40 centimeters higher than the level of the sea, only a small change in the level of the ocean is required to submerge most of the city.

While residents may be used to flooding during the rainy season, if the slow rise of the Andaman and the Gulf of Thailand continue much longer, it could be a continual state of affairs.

The director of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, Bhichit Rattakul thinks that may soon be the case. "People in neighborhoods along the banks of the Chao Phya River may have to get used to wading through water on their streets all the time," he warned.

Foreigners have developed models for the eventual impact of rising sea levels and these models suggest that there is a 55 per cent chance Bangkok will flood if the sea rises another 50 centimeters.

Although everyone in the world would be affected by the phenomenon, people in Asia, particularly in China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand will be the most impacted by rising sea levels.