Bangkok is sinking and the waters are rising

According to scientists, Bangkok, capital of Thailand and home to some 10 million inhabitants, is at risk of being reclaimed by the sea in the decades ahead.

Scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change held in Khun Samut Chin recently said that Bangkok is among 13 of the world’s largest 20 cities which may be submerged into the sea over the course of the next century.

Lisa Schipper is an American who researches global warming. She recently visited the temple that marks the gates to Bangkok, a temple barely clinging to a spit of land that shrinks under the flood of monsoon rains every year.

"This is what the future will look like in many places around the world," she said. "Here is a living study in environmental change."

The loss of Bangkok on Thailand’s economy would be devastating. "If the heart of Thailand is under water everything will stop," says Smith Dharmasaroja, chair of the government's Committee of National Disaster Warning Administration. "We don't have time to move our capital in the next 15-20 years. We have to protect our heart now, and it's almost too late."

Scientist Anond Snidvongs says that the Gulf of Thailand is rising at the same rate as waters around the rest of the world. However 0.25 centimeters a year seems like a lot when most of the city is only a meter above water, with many parts already existing below sea level.

In addition, since the city was not build on solid rock, but rather on a foundation of clay, it is sinking, even as the waters rise. The combination could mean that Bangkok goes under much faster than most people anticipate.

"You notice that every highway, road and building which has no foundation pilings is sinking," says Smith. "We feel that with the ground sinking and the sea water rising, Bangkok will be under sea water in the next 15 to 20 years - permanently."

As to what measures the government should be taking, there are many to consider. "There is no one single solution to respond to climate change," says Anond, whose team is putting forward recommendations based on several scenarios. "We have to start doing something about this right now."