Mekong Dam Monitor (Update for Feb. 26 - March 3, 2024)

 

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Update for February 26 - March 3 Notable changes on the Mekong in the last week. Visit the Monitor home for more, including Burmese, 中文, Khmer, ພາສາລາວ, ไทย, and Tiếng Việt translation.

SPOTLIGHT Cambodia’s Floodplain and Vietnam’s Delta are Drying Up. Our wetness maps show the surface of the large Lower Mekong floodplain shared between Cambodia and Vietnam gradually drying up over the last nine weeks. Media reports from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam point out how higher-than-normal temperatures there are drying up cropland at a time of year when crops should be thriving. A brief El Nino-induced drought was predicted for the 2024 dry season, and it appears these forecasts are starting to play out.

Where is the water? Dry season releases for hydropower production were moderate throughout the basin last week with a net release of less than 500 million cubic meters of water. The most significant releases came from Nuozhadu (PRC, 248 million cubic meters) and Jinghong (PRC, 141 million cubic meters). Typically releases from these dams raise the river level much higher than normal at this time of the year, but last year’s wet season drought has translated into extremely low natural flow levels. So the releases from China’s dams are temporarily bringing the river level to around normal level.

Most Impactful Dams

River Levels River levels throughout the basin are currently either slightly low or close to normal for this time of year. The Tonle Sap Lake is about 0.70m lower than normal for this time of year.

Chiang Saen Gauge Stung Treng Gauge

Weather & Wetness Extremely high temperatures persisted across most of the lower Mekong, especially in northern Laos and Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains where temperatures were five degrees Celsius higher than normal. A drought appears to be forming in the center of the basin from north to south. The Annamite Mountains were wetter than normal.