Climate change and Bangladesh
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Floods and erosion cause extreme poverty as people lose their land and homes.
Mega floods are more frequent now due to climate change. In 2004, mega floods destroyed 80 per cent of the country's crops, killed 747 people and left 30 million homeless. The floods of 2007, though not as severe, caused much greater health problems.
Due to the sea level rise, 18 per cent land of the country would go under water for which many people living in the coastal areas will have to move inland to make the population pressure unbearable. Deeper saline intrusion would make more land unusable for farming. Climate change would also increase the incidence and intensity of tropical storms.
Climate change could make 15 million people of the country environmental refugees by 2050. Comprehensive flood control measures could somewhat ease the situation.
Mohammad Rajja
Gono Bishwabidyalay,
Gsvmc, Savar , Dhaka
E-mail: arnold_raza@yahoo.com
Mega floods are more frequent now due to climate change. In 2004, mega floods destroyed 80 per cent of the country's crops, killed 747 people and left 30 million homeless. The floods of 2007, though not as severe, caused much greater health problems.
Due to the sea level rise, 18 per cent land of the country would go under water for which many people living in the coastal areas will have to move inland to make the population pressure unbearable. Deeper saline intrusion would make more land unusable for farming. Climate change would also increase the incidence and intensity of tropical storms.
Climate change could make 15 million people of the country environmental refugees by 2050. Comprehensive flood control measures could somewhat ease the situation.
Mohammad Rajja
Gono Bishwabidyalay,
Gsvmc, Savar , Dhaka
E-mail: arnold_raza@yahoo.com