The Mekong: A Drought-prone Tropical Environment?

Autor: Peter T. Adamson, Jeremy Bird
Rok vydání: 2010
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Water Resources Development. 26:579-594
ISSN: 1360-0648
0790-0627
Popis: The notion of drought as a hydro-meteorological hazard in tropical monsoon regions is not perhaps one that fits naturally with conventional perceptions. The term ‘monsoon’ is commonly regarded as synonymous with torrential rainfall, moisture surplus, floods and climatic predictability. The paper seeks to dispel such perceptions in a review of recent historical events within the Lower Mekong Basin. A weak monsoon results in deficient flows and water levels that can have severe impacts upon agricultural production across the Cambodian flood plain and the delta in Viet Nam, where natural and controlled inundation is the basis of padi rice production. Lower flows also cause an increase in saline intrusion in the delta, which further reduces agricultural output. The impacts of an early end to monsoon conditions on agriculture in Thailand and Lao PDR are also revealed, which serves to emphasize the potential negative consequences of climate change which not only is expected to result in the increased inter-annu...
Databáze: OpenAIRE