Han Deok-su: "In the Era of Climate Crisis... AI Flood Forecasting and Thorough River Maintenance"

UN Declares Era of 'Tropicalization' Beyond Global Warming
Local Heavy Rain and Extreme Downpours Call for Water Management Preparedness

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced that “an artificial intelligence (AI) flood forecasting system will be introduced early.”

At the 9th National Water Management Committee held at the Government Seoul Office on the 4th, Prime Minister Han stated, “We will pursue more scientific water management.” He added, “The government will link all river facilities, including dams, sluice gates, and embankments, such as the four major rivers’ weirs, to prepare for localized heavy rains and extreme downpours.”

He also said that bold river maintenance, such as constructing small- and medium-sized dams and dredging rivers as needed by local areas, will be promoted, and that safety standards for rivers with high flood risks will be flexibly applied to a frequency of 500 years or more.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is delivering a speech at the 9th National Water Management Committee held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 4th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Prime Minister Han emphasized, “Future water management policies must proactively respond by mobilizing all available data, technologies, and resources based on the clear recognition that the climate crisis is a present and real reality.”

He said, “Recently, the UN Secretary-General announced that the era of global warming has ended and the era of ‘global tropicalization’ has begun,” adding, “Now, the climate crisis is undeniably a current fact, and how we adapt to it has become a crucial issue. Among these, water management policy is the most essential.”

Prime Minister Han stated, “To respond to new crises we have never experienced before, we must boldly break away from existing water management policies and bring about more active and innovative changes.”

Meanwhile, at the meeting, the results of the Board of Audit and Inspection’s public audit on the ‘Geumgang and Yeongsangang Weir Management Plan’ pointed out many unfair and unreasonable issues in the process of preparing the weir management plan. At the request of the Minister of Environment, the agenda to reconsider the ‘Geumgang and Yeongsangang Weir Management Plan’ will be discussed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.