Hanoi (VNA) – A consultation workshop convened in Hanoi on July 2 to present and gather feedback on climate change projections and communication for Vietnam.
Co-hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change (IMHEN) and the Department of Climate Change, and the UK Met Office, the event formed part of the Asia-Pacific WISER (Weather and Climate Information Services) Programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
It drew a diverse group of stakeholders, including government officials, researchers, academics, and representatives from organisations like the Vietnam Women’s Union and the Vietnam Youth Federation, who weighed in on tailoring climate data for practical use.
In her opening remarks, IMHEN Director Assoc. Prof. Pham Thi Thanh Nga said the 2025 scenarios build on Vietnam’s 2020 projections, incorporating the latest findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report and insights from domestic and global partners. The focus is on extreme weather events, particularly in urban areas, and rising sea levels, which threaten Vietnam’s low-lying coastal regions. The goal is to guide policymaking, urban planning, and local adaptation strategies.
Dr. Truong Ba Kien from IMHEN outlined the use of three socioeconomic pathway (SSP) models, including SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5, mapping out sustainable, intermediate, and high-emission futures, respectively. These align with Vietnam’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The 2025 scenarios track metrics like days exceeding 35°C, short-duration heavy rainfall, cold spells, droughts, and prolonged rains. High-resolution datasets, down to 3–5km for cities and provinces, enable precise modeling of local impacts.
A key feature is their digital accessibility. An interactive WebGIS platform allows users to search, download, and analyse data by region, sector, and timeline, boosting its utility in urban planning, agriculture, healthcare, and climate-resilient infrastructure development.
Emma Dyer from the UK Met Office shared projections from a high-resolution Convection-Permitting Model under the SSP3-7.0 pathway, forecasting a 2.0–3.7°C temperature spike by 2100 and a 0–4mm uptick in daily rainfall.
Coastal flooding risks also loomed large in discussions, alongside strategies to make complex data digestible for diverse stakeholders./.
VNA
