Climate change: Where are we?

This letter is in reference to a news item "Climate change impact threatens fruits production in Rajshahi, C'nawabganj--Peasants planning to shift to other crops" published on page 13 in the Financial Express on July 03, 2019. The news states that the production of fruits including mango, litchi, guava and plum might be affected badly due to the impact of climate change, rise in day temperature, scanty and untimely rainfall.
According to the news, there was scanty rainfall till July 02 in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj and the average day temperature remained higher than that of the last couples of years. The rainfall in June was extremely scanty compared to that of previous years. Even the minimum day temperature was average 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than that of the last year during June this year.
If the temperature fluctuates frequently, farmers will not get the desired production in that region.
In the Global Climate Risk Index 2019 report published at the annual climate summit in Poland's Katowice city a few months ago, Bangladesh was ranked seventh among the countries most affected by extreme weather events in 20 years since 1998. The report was prepared analysing damages caused by the extreme weather events that took place from 1998 to 2017.
According to the report, Bangladesh stood ninth among the countries most affected last year, up from 13th the previous year. In the last year, 407 people died in Bangladesh due to extreme weather-related events -- floods, landslide, storms and cyclones. The country also suffered an economic loss of about US$ 2826.68 million, according to the Germanwatch, a Berlin-based environmental organisation.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also predicted in its scientific report that risks associated with extreme events will continue to increase as the global mean temperature rises.
South Asian countries are among the most vulnerable globally to the impacts of climate change. The global risk index report mentioned that massive rainfall led to floods across Nepal, Bangladesh and India, which affected more than 40 million people.
Many developed countries including the USA are avoiding wilfully the Kyoto Protocol 1997 since long and these countries are the most responsible for greenhouse effect emissions across the world. The developing and underdeveloped countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are vulnerable to climate change due to carbon emission of the industrial nations. Many believe that due to carbon emission, record heat waves crippled the lifestyle of Europe.
It is time we became more alert about our own safety.
Md Zillur Rahaman
Satish Sarker Road
Gandaria, Dhaka
[email protected]