INTERNATIONAL: Alarm bells are being sounded over the impact of rising sea levels in Southeast Asia and Cambodia is not immune. A new study shows that huge areas of land in the region are closer to sea level than previously thought and with sea levels slowly rising, millions more people are at risk.

The Dutch-based research institute, Deltares, has used satellite-based Light Detection and Ranging, or LIDAR, to map areas of Southeast Asia most at risk from even a one metre rise in sea levels. Low-lying countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, have been declared most vulnerable, with millions of people already living at sea level. A 2m rise in sea levels would completely inundate some of the region’s biggest cities, including Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh, not to mention Kampot, Kep and Sihanoukville, as well as its hugely popular islands. Even Phnom Penh would be swamped, with a rise in sea levels pushing the Mekong River higher as well.

Deltares says it hopes the research can help planning officials reduce the risk of flooding and there isn’t time to waste. The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change expects sea levels to rise by almost a metre within the next 70 years and once-in-a-century flooding events to occur annually by the year 2100.