Japan to strengthen river dikes in face of global warming

April 25, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's land ministry has started reviewing its river dike construction projects and procedures for them, planning to strengthen dikes to mitigate damage from floods caused by global warming.

The ministry plans to assume an increase in rainfall for such plans in line with expected higher temperatures, ministry officials said.

An expert panel of the ministry has launched discussions on specific measures and plans to compile a report as early as this fiscal year to March 2019, according to the officials.

Floods resulting from torrential rains are on the increase in Japan.

Heavy rains that hit the Kanto eastern and Tohoku northeastern regions in 2015 collapsed dikes of the Kinugawa River in Kanto and flooded nearby houses.

If global warming progresses, similar damage is expected in other parts of the country.

According to the ministry, most dike construction plans for rivers managed by the national and prefectural governments do not reflect an expected increase in rainfall and other possible effects from global warming.

In light of this situation, the panel has started discussions on what measures should be taken to strengthen river dikes and procedures for such measures, while taking into account future disaster risks from global warming, the officials said.

The panel is discussing the extent of temperature rises that should be assumed in the review of dike construction projects.

The Paris Agreement, an international framework to combat climate change that took effect in 2016, set a goal of keeping the rise in the average global temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared with that before the industrial revolution.

The panel is expected to assume an average temperature rise of at least 2 degrees, in view of the target of the landmark deal.

For work to strengthen river dikes, the panel will consider methods to carry out related operations efficiently while taking into consideration rainfall increases due to global warming.

The panel hopes local governments will factor in the impact of an expected temperature rise when revising their river dike construction plans. Jiji Press