NAKHON PHANOM, Feb 9 (TNA) – The Mekong River by this northeastern province turned beautifully blue but officials warned it was a sign of danger.
The level of the river plummeted to its lowest point, at about one meter deep, and vast sand dunes emerged. The blueish water like seawater happened for the second year and amazed local residents and tourists. They posed for pictures with the beautiful sight which became a tourist highlight. In fact, Mekong faced its lowest level in decades.
Local fishery officials said the water turned blue because it was stagnant, resulting from dam construction in a neighboring country. Without a solution, fish in the Mekong River would be extinct, plankton and dissolved oxygen would decline and its ecosystem would be ruined.
If the level of the river remains low, fish cannot lay eggs upstream and it will be hardships for people depending on fishing and fish farms in the river.
More than 100 of about 1,000 fish species in the Mekong River became extinct, the officials said. (TNA)
