As rising seas increase saltwater intrusion and soaring temperatures cause greater evaporation, scientists say that the mounting levels of salt in waters and in soils pose a major climate-related danger and could become a leading cause of climate migration globally.
As rising seas increase saltwater intrusion and soaring temperatures cause greater evaporation, scientists say that the mounting levels of salt in waters and in soils pose a major climate-related danger and could become a leading cause of climate migration globally.
The Mekong Delta is under a chemical threat arguably more deadly for the long term than the Agent Orange deployed across it during the Vietnam War half a century ago. By the middle of this century, it could be engulfed by a toxic onslaught from which there is no recovery — salt.
As sea levels rise, salty ocean water is pushing ever further into the delta, one of Southeast Asia’s most densely populated and productive rice-growing regions. During this year’s spring dry season, the salinity boundary — where salt levels exceed 4 grams per liter — reached up to 40 miles upstream, more than 10 miles further than it has historically.
Read more at Yale Environment 360
