Climate change: Better act now

Shafiqul Alam The climate all over the world is becoming more varied and volatile. In recent years, countries like the United States and United Kingdom have been hit by surprise floods, unusually hot days or unexpected snow falls. There is no doubt that, whatever the combination of causes, our climate is changing at such a rate that it will change our lives and communities. Our planet is warming up, but how this will affect us in the future is difficult to quantify; and on the possible climate damages, our knowledge is poor. Just consider rainfall patterns which have already changed. In fact, global warming will accelerate the hydrological cycle. Warmer air causes more water to evaporate. A warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapour, so more water is accumulated to fall back on earth as rain, leading to worse flooding. Again, the opposite thing -- less precipitation and more evaporation -- might happen as well. Scientists predicted that the most harmful impact of climate change in Bangladesh will take in the form of floods, salinity and droughts, which might severely affect crop productivity and food security. The country might also face river erosion, sea water level rise and lack of fresh water in the coastal zones. Bangladesh is familiar with flooding of different scales during the rainy season and the intensity and duration of such floods due to climate change might increase and can bring devastation to society and economy as a whole. Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with over 1000 people per square kilometre, has a low per capita income. More than 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty while a significant per cent of them is hard core poor. With its high population density and low level of development, Bangladesh has already been facing a number of natural and man-made problems including natural problems like cyclones, floods, droughts and socio-economic problems like poverty, poor health delivery systems, high unemployment etcetera. In the coming days, Bangladesh may also have to face adverse impact of climate change. To better prepare the country for dealing with these impacts, pragmatic planning is needed based on authentic data and analyses from real studies. Experts are predicting that Bangladesh is poised to lose most of its marine fish population as a result of climate change, dealing a big blow to thousands of people dependent on fishing in the sea. Bangladesh has a long coastal belt of 710 kilometres with abundant marine resources. Unfortunately, some of them have disappeared and many more are on the verge of extinction. Again, the way we are loosing our nature sustaining components such as rivers, trees, biodiversity and so forth, we are heading towards a more dangerous age to be faced by the upcoming generations. We are responsible, but not the most prepared for the climatic change, even though we are one of the most vulnerable countries of the world. Of course, both natural and social systems will adapt spontaneously to some degree with climate change. Such adaptation, however, will not be sufficient and even planned adaptation will not succeed in addressing all impacts. A major challenge we face today is that there are still many uncertainties about climate change and its impact and our options for adapting to them. As a low-lying tropical country Bangladesh is on the frontline of the consequences of global warming. Already the storms are increasing in frequency and severity. The recent erratic rainfall is also a sign of the changing climate. Regrettably, though, the root cause of most of the global warming originates in the heavily industrialised world. However, Bangladesh will have to pay a heavy price. However, it is necessary that Bangladesh put its focus on strategic adaptation and implementation related to the effects of climate change in its policy-making process now rather than later. And proper study should be undertaken to identify, for example, which crops would sustain in the changed climatic condition. If we start today, we will be better prepared for tomorrow. The writer can be reached at email: shafiqul0032@yahoo.com