Ho Chi Minh City will be among the large Asian coastal cities that will flood more often, on a larger scale, and affect millions more people, if current climate change trends continue, the Asian Development Bank warns.
A report titled Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities that it released last Friday examines the impact of climate change on Bangkok, HCMC, and Manila under a range of different scenarios until 2050.
Each of the three cities has a population close to or above 10 million, and all face increased climate-related risks such as rising sea levels and an increased frequency of extreme weather events.
Floods in the cities may cause losses worth billions of dollars, with poor populations likely to be the hardest hit.
In Ho Chi Minh City, around 26 percent of the population is currently affected by flooding, but the number could climb to more than 60 percent by 2050.
The report blames urban flooding on land subsidence due to groundwater pumping, dumping of solid waste into city canals and waterways, clogged drainage systems, and deforestation in the upper watershed.
It recommends that governments of coastal megacities undertake measures to address climate risks as an integral part of urban planning. This includes developing strategic urban adaptation frameworks for managing climate risks, strengthening institutional capacity for adaptation and implementing measures such as land use planning, and zoning to help reduce urban vulnerability.
It is the product of a two-year study by the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the World Bank.
A major step was taken towards the completion of a Pan-Asian rail project after the first segment of an international railroad opened in Cambodia on Friday.