Bangkok could sink within 20 years

Malaysia Sun Monday 5th November, 2007

Experts say Thailand’s sprawling capital of more than 10 million people could be submerged within this century.

Bangkok is one of 13 of the world's largest 20 cities at risk of being swamped as sea levels rise in coming decades, according to warnings at the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change held in Bangkok.

Lisa Schipper, an American researcher on global warming, said the loss of Bangkok would destroy the country's economic engine and a major hub for regional tourism.

Thailand’s Committee of National Disaster Warning Administration says there is no time to move the capital, as every highway, road and building which has no foundation pilings is sinking.

With the ground sinking and the sea water rising, there is a possibility that Bangkok will be under sea water in the next 15 to 20 years; permanently.

The still expanding city rests about three to five feet above the nearby gulf, although some areas already lie below sea level.

The gulf's waters have been rising by about a tenth of an inch a year and the city, built on clay rather than bedrock, has been sinking at a far faster pace of up to 4 inches annually.