Thailand Climate Change: Rising Sea Levels Threaten 11 Million People in Bangkok

Rising sea levels are a major concern not only for rural coastal communities but even for some of the world's major cities surrounded by bodies of water. In the context of climate change, melting glaciers due to global warming is releasing frozen water back into the oceans at unprecedented rates never seen before in modern history. Due to the threat, inhabitants of these 'at risk areas' are forced to flee from the rising tides.

One such place facing this threat is Thailand's Bangkok Metropolitan area, which has been projected by climate experts to further sink in the coming decades. Situated in Southeast Asia and near the Gulf of Thailand, Bangkok, and its suburbs are dealing with coastal flooding as a result of the global sea level rise. Previous studies have shown that both human-induced atmospheric and ocean warming are the main causes of this event.

Global Warming

Since 1880 or the onset of the Industrial Revolution, Earth's temperature has increased by an average of 0.08 degrees Celsius (0.14 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. This is according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which reported that 2022 was the sixth warmest year in recorded history.

The 10 warmest years on record all occurred since 2010, the NOAA adds. The warming is somehow expected as the amount of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere has accelerated the greenhouse effect. With this, climate scientists have observed glaciers have retreated and ice sheets have thawed in the polar regions of the world, resulting in the global rise of water levels.

Is Bangkok Sinking?

Bangkok, once known as the "Venice of the East" due to its waterways, has paved its city canal to allow the expansion of its urban sprawl. It is for this reason that the city now experiences frequent flooding since the waterways served as conduits for rainwater, which now cannot be contained, according to the World Economic Forum.

The drains, canals, and rice fields once existed in the city have been replaced and covered concrete such as roads and buildings, according to a local testimony, cited by the WEF organization. Home to more than 10 million people, the Bangkok Metropolitan area will be vulnerable and subjected to "extreme sea level rise" by the year 2030, according to a report by the Greenpeace organization.

Rising Sea Levels

Aside from Bangkok, the Maldives, and coastal Florida are just some of the many areas at risk of future global sea level rise driven by the ongoing climate crisis. While evacuations or land reclamations have been imposed as a temporary solution, experts have warned that the mitigation or eradication of climate gases should be of priority.

In the coming decades, climate predictions from previous research show that some of the coastal areas that we know today could be wiped off the map if rising sea levels continue.