How rising sea levels may force Thailand to move its capital

Thailand, a country renowned for its vibrant culture, is facing a big decision. As rising sea levels threaten to engulf low-lying areas, including Bangkok, the possibility of relocating the capital has emerged as a serious consideration. This revelation comes from a senior official in Thailand’s climate change office, who warns that projections indicate a real risk of inundation before the century’s end.

“The world is already warmer than before, and we need to think about how to deal with this,” a person in charge of climate issues in Thailand said. They’re worried that if nothing changes, Bangkok could end up underwater.

But this isn’t a tale of doom and gloom alone. People are coming up with smart ideas, like building strong walls to keep the sea out, similar to what they do in the Netherlands. Thailand is also taking important steps to protect the environment and fight climate change. They’re working on new laws to reduce pollution and become more eco-friendly.

More from Explainers

How ChatGPT is becoming everyone’s BFF and why that’s dangerous This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Here’s how serious is the issue. Will Thailand relocate its capital?

‘Beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius already’

Thailand may have to consider relocating its capital Bangkok because of rising sea levels, a senior official in the country’s climate change office told AFP on Wednesday.

Projections consistently show that low-lying Bangkok risks being inundated by the ocean before the end of the century.

Much of the bustling capital already battles flooding during the rainy season.

Pavich Kesavawong, deputy director-general of the government’s department of climate change and environment, warned that the city might not be able to adapt with the world on its current warming pathway.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

Ghaziabad woman dead, pilgrims attacked in bus… How Nepal’s Gen-Z protests turned into a living hell for Indian tourists

Were bodyguards involved in Charlie Kirk’s shooting? The many conspiracies surrounding the killing

“I think we are beyond the 1.5 (degrees Celsius) already,” he told AFP, referring to the increase in global temperatures from pre-industrial levels.

“Now we have to come back and think about adaptation.”

“I imagine Bangkok will be under water already, if we stay in our (current) circumstance.”

Bangkok’s city government is exploring measures that include building dikes, along the lines of those used in the Netherlands, he said.

But “we’ve been thinking about moving”, Pavich said, noting that the discussions were still hypothetical and the issue was “very complex”.

“Personally I think it’s a good choice, so we can separate the capital, the government areas, and business areas,” he said.

“Bangkok (would) still be the government capital, but move the business.”

Climate impacts

While a move is still a long way from being adopted as policy, it would not be unprecedented in the region.

Indonesia will inaugurate this year its new capital Nusantara, which will replace sinking and polluted Jakarta as the country’s political centre.

The mammoth move has been controversial and extremely expensive, with an estimated price tag of $32 billion-$35 billion (Rs 2.67 lakh crore- Rs 2.92 lakh crore).

Thailand is suffering the effects of climate change across a range of sectors, from farmers struggling with heat and drought to tourism businesses affected by coral bleaching and pollution.

It has closed several national parks in response to recent coral bleaching and Pavich said further closures were possible.

“We have to save our nature, so we think that we will do any measure to protect our resources,” he said.

However, Pavich acknowledged that government efforts to tackle the growing problem of air pollution, particularly in Thailand’s north, had yet to bear fruit.

Legislation focused on clean air passed this year and Pavich said national parks officials had stepped up efforts to prevent and put out fires in protected areas.“The agriculture sector is very challenging for us,” he said, referring to continued post-harvest burning that is a major contributor to seasonal haze. An improvement is not likely for several years.

More immediately, his department — part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment — is pushing Thailand’s first climate change legislation, which has been in the works since at least 2019 but was shelved during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pavich said the legislation, which includes provisions on everything from carbon pricing to mitigation and adaptation measures, is likely to pass into law this year.

Thailand is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, and net-zero by 2065.

With inputs from AFP