Climate change
Climate
change is a long term change in the statistical distribution of weather
patterns over periods of time. For example, it may be unexpected change of
weather, unexpected humidity, change in the temperature, rainfall etc.
Bangladesh
is one of the largest deltas in the world which is highly vulnerable to Natural
Disasters because of its Geographical location, Flat and low-lying landscape,
Population density, Poverty, Illiteracy, Lack of Institutional setup etc. In
other words, the Physical, Social as well as Economic conditions of Bangladesh
are very typical to any of the most vulnerable countries to Natural Disasters
in the world. The total land area is 147,570 sq. km. consists mostly of
Floodplains (almost 80%) leaving major part
of the
country (with the exception of the north- western highlands) prone to flooding
during the
rainy
season. Moreover, the adverse affects of Climate Change – especially High
Temperature, Sea-level Rise, Cyclones and Storm Surges, Salinity Intrusion,
Heavy Monsoon Downpours etc. has aggravated the overall Economic Development
scenario of the country to a great extent.
The climate
of Bangladesh can be characterized by High temperatures, Heavy rainfall, High
humidity,
and fairly
marked three seasonal variations like Hot Summer, Shrinking Winter and Medium
to Heavy Rains during the Rainy season.
Climatic Impacts:
Bangladesh
experiences different types of Natural Disasters almost every year because of
the Global Warming as well as Climate Change impacts, these are:
Floods /
Flash Floods
Almost 80%
of the total area of the country is prone to flooding
Cyclones
and Storm Surges
South and
South-eastern Parts of the country were hit by Tropical Cyclones during the
last few years
Salinity
Intrusion
Almost the
whole Coastal Belt along the Bay of Bengal is experiencing Salinity problem.
Extreme
Temperature and Drought
North and
North-western regions of the country are suffering because of the Extreme
Temperature
problem.
Sectorial Impacts:
Agriculture
and Fisheries:
The economy of Bangladesh is based on Agriculture mainly, with two
thirds of the population engaged (directly or indirectly) on Agricultural
activities; although the country is trying move towards industrialization
slowly during the last one and a half decade almost. So, the overall impact of
Climate Change on Agricultural production in Bangladesh would be wide spread
and devastating for the country’s economy. Beside this, other impacts of
Climate Change such as - Extreme Temperature, Drought, and Salinity Intrusion
etc. are also responsible for the declining crop yields in Bangladesh.
Temperature and Rainfall changes have already affected crop production in many
parts of the country and the area of arable land has decreased to a great
extent. The Salinity intrusion in the coastal area is creating a serious
implications for the coastal land that were traditionally used for rice
production. The fisheries sector has also experienced an adverse affect because
of the impacts of Climate Change. The fisheries sector contributes about 3.5%
of the GDP in Bangladesh and people depend on fish products in order to meet up
majority of their daily protein requirements.
Water
Resources and Hydrology:
In a high
density country like Bangladesh, the effects of Climate Change on the Surface
and Ground water resources will be very severe and alarming. Changes to water
resources and hydrology will have a significant impact on the country’s
economy, where people mostly depend on the Surface water for Irrigation, Fishery,
Industrial production, Navigation and similar other activities.
Coastal
Areas:
Almost one
fourth of the total population of the country live in the coastal areas of
Bangladesh,
where
majority of the population are somehow affected (directly or indirectly) by
Coastal Floods / Tidal Surges, River-bank Erosion, Salinity, Tropical Cyclones
etc. With the rise of Sea-level up to one meter only, Bangladesh could lose up
to 15% of its land area under the Sea water and around 30 million people living
in the coastal areas of Bangladesh could become Refugees because of Climate
Change impacts.
The whole
coastal area is Highly Vulnerable to High Tides and Storm Surges. Moreover, the
Bay of Bengal is located at the tip of the north Indian Ocean, where severe
Cyclonic storms as well as long Tidal waves are frequently generated and hit
the coast line with severe impacts.
Forestry
/ Biodiversity:
Bangladesh
has got a wide diversity of Ecosystems including Mangrove forests at the extreme
south of the country. The “Sundarbans” a World Heritage, is the largest
Mangrove Forest in the world, comprising 577,00 ha of land area along the Bay
of Bengal. A total of 425 species have been identified there, the most
significant is the famous Royal Bengal Tiger. Therefore, Climate Change impacts
will have negative effects on the Ecosystem of the Forest recourses in
Bangladesh while the Sundarbans is likely to suffer the most.
Urban
areas:
Cities and
Towns situated along the Coastal belt in Bangladesh are at the Front line of
Climate Change related disaster impacts and could experience a severe damage
directly because of the Sea level Rise and Storm Surges at any time. Direct
impacts may occur through the increased Floods, Drainage congestion and Water
logging as well as Infrastructure Damage during extreme events. It should be
mentioned here that, around 40 per cent of the urban population in Bangladesh
lives in the Slum and highly prone to Disaster risk during Flooding.
Vulnerable
groups:
The Urban
poor are therefore directly at the risk of Natural Disasters, enhanced by the impacts
of Climate Change. In Bangladesh, Women are especially vulnerable because of
the gender inequalities in
the Socio-
economic and Political institutions. During the 1991Cyclone and Storm surge in Bangladesh,
the death rate in case of women was almost five times higher than the men. Because
men were able to communicate with each other in the public spaces, but the information
did not reach most of the women timely.
