Viet Nam is preparing to build a detailed scenario on the effects of climate change and related rises in sea levels.

A project to collect and analyse climate data was started last Friday. The one-year project is being undertaken by the Viet Nam Institute of Meteorology Hydrology and Environment together with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Scientists will work to piece together the information needed to help Viet Nam adapt to the confronting new climate patterns, according to Dr. Jack Katzfey, from the Australian organisation.

This will include keeping a close track of temperatures, rainfall and tropical storms and comparing them to past trends.

Vietnamese scientists will be trained in Australia to improve their capacity to analyse, assess and complete climate-change scenarios.

A website will probably be built to make the updated climate data widely accessible.

Director of the Viet Nam institute, Tran Thuc, said that Viet Nam had already applied climate-change-models built by Japan, Britain and Norway.

However, he said every model had its own strong points. "We are using the Australian model this time to compare and perfect our analytical results before building detailed versions," he said.

Viet Nam is listed as one of the most vulnerable countries exposed to climate change. In the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta rising sea levels, salt-water intrusion and flooding are already affecting coastal communities. 

Source: VNAgency