Current:Home > InvestAP PHOTOS: In Vietnam, vibrant Ho Chi Minh City is a magnet that pulls in millions-LoTradeCoin
AP PHOTOS: In Vietnam, vibrant Ho Chi Minh City is a magnet that pulls in millions
View Date:2024-12-23 18:26:09
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — From the sky, the sprawling Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam appears to erupt from the green expanse of the riverine delta that surrounds it.
Millions of lives – an estimated 9.3 million in 2023, according to the U.N. World Urbanization Prospects – intersect in Vietnam’s financial capital. Young couples hold hands and walk by the Saigon River. Thousands perched on scooters wait at traffic lights. Trainee hairstylists give residents free haircuts on the streets.
At parks, friends meet and take group photos, or they may get together for beer and karaoke. Kids ride electric hoverboards, or they may play da cau, a sport dating back nearly 1,500 years that involves kicking a shuttlecock.
To be a part of this tapestry for millions living in the adjoining Mekong region is viewed as the most reliable way toward economic security. Incomes from traditional jobs like farming or aquaculture aren’t as reliable as they used to be for reasons ranging from saltwater intrusion in farms or the water table being depleted because of climate change or excessive sand mining, said Mimi Vu, a migration specialist based in Ho Chi Minh City.
“Migration because of climate change and because of economic prospects are intertwined. It’s very hard to separate the two,” Vu said.
This movement to Vietnam’s largest city is one reason why its population has nearly doubled in the past two decades despite the city having one of the lowest birth rates in the country. Fears of future labor shortages have prompted the government to design policies encouraging families to have more children.
But that low-lying, concentrated population is more vulnerable to the many climate risks straining the city’s infrastructure, like extreme heat and flooding from rising sea levels.
And the many migrants who earn a living by working on the streets — the thousands that sell street food, push carts of fruit through searingly hot alleys during the day, or work at construction sites — are often the most vulnerable.
______
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
veryGood! (89827)
Related
- After entire police force resigns in small Oklahoma town, chief blames leaders, budget cuts
- FDA authorizes the first at-home test for COVID-19 and the flu
- EU Utilities Vow End to Coal After 2020, as Trump Promises Revival
- Oklahoma’s Largest Earthquake Linked to Oil and Gas Industry Actions 3 Years Earlier, Study Says
- CFP bracket prediction: SEC adds a fifth team to field while a Big Ten unbeaten falls out
- Pack These Under $25 Amazon Products to Avoid Breaking Out on Vacation
- Dakota Pipeline Is Ready for Oil, Without Spill Response Plan for Standing Rock
- Japan Plans Floating Wind Turbines for Tsunami-Stricken Fukushima Coast
- Bull doge! Dogecoin soars as Trump announces a government efficiency group nicknamed DOGE
- Can Energy-Efficient Windows Revive U.S. Glass Manufacturing?
Ranking
- Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
- LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to feel depressed with parental support, study says
- UPS workers vote to strike, setting stage for biggest walkout since 1959
- Dolce Vita's Sale Section Will Have Your Wardrobe Vacation-Ready on a Budget
- Jack Del Rio leaving Wisconsin’s staff after arrest on charge of operating vehicle while intoxicated
- InsideClimate News Wins SABEW Awards for Business Journalism for Agriculture, Military Series
- Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled
- Cook Inlet: Oil Platforms Powered by Leaking Alaska Pipeline Forced to Shut Down
Recommendation
-
Shocked South Carolina woman walks into bathroom only to find python behind toilet
-
Camila Cabello Goes Dark and Sexy With Bold Summer Hair Color
-
Stone flakes made by modern monkeys trigger big questions about early humans
-
Auto Industry Pins Hopes on Fleets to Charge America’s Electric Car Market
-
'Devastation is absolutely heartbreaking' from Southern California wildfire
-
Arizona to halt some new home construction due to water supply issues
-
Alaska Oil and Gas Spills Prompt Call for Inspection of All Cook Inlet Pipelines
-
U.S. Intelligence: foreign rivals didn't cause Havana Syndrome