Cambodia's Cimate Change Impacts

   The IPCC report states that cold days will decrease in frequency in Asia and Winter precipitation will increase in Southern Asia and also that the monsoon strength will be decreased. The change in Pacific ocean circulation is expected to affect the southwest monsoonal flow which highly influences the precipitation in Southern Asia. The temperature in Asia is also expected to rise 2 to 4 degrees Celsius. Also, because the majority of Asia consists of third world countries, there is a lack of data to support the IPCC climate models there for their projections.
   It is expected that by 2050 more than a billion people could be affected by the availability of freshwater after glacier melt in the Himalayas and a decrease in river flows. The increased temperature of coastal waters will increase cholera, an infection in the small intestine which causes diarrhea, dehydration,  and in some cases death, by an increase in cholerea bacteria.
   With high confidence the IPCC report states that sea-level rise will be responsible for the loss of ecosystems like coral reefs and sea-side cities. One million people are expected to be affected by flooding due to sea-level rise. Sever water stress will cause many health problems for the people of Asia. They also expect that the management of natural resources will improve and environmental risks will not be over looked as they are today. The areas in Asia that are tropical, like much of Cambodia, will have an increased risk of sever weather such as typhoons, floods, and other storms. Due to drought, agriculture production in Asia will decrease affecting the many people are dependent on the climate and agriculture.
  The most interesting threat to my country is drought. So many people in Cambodia rely on rain waters for their crops. The drought combined with increase in population will affect more than an estimated one billion people by the year 2050 (IPCC Report 2007). These droughts will affect food and water security in Cambodia. This will also affect the poverty and health levels of Cambodians. The Mekong river basin is the fuel for crops in the region's capital of Phnom Penh. Currently, the East Mekong Delta floods and dries with the monsoons. After temperatures rise, many expect that the monsoons will change there for influencing the Mekong river and millions of lives.