What\\\'s to do with heat wave?

What has been feared over the last few years seems to have finally struck Bangladesh: continuing heat wave as a consequence of global warming. The first one week after Pahela Baisakh has gone without rain or tornado which usually occurred at this time of the year. Last Sunday, the mercury shot up to 40 degrees Celsius in Rangamati, the highest temperature of the season -- six points higher than the normal 34 degrees for this time of the year. Capital Dhaka recorded a temperature of 38.5 degrees on the day. The Met Office declares heat wave conditions when the maximum temperature rises five degrees above normal to either touch or cross 40.
According to experts, the high levels of humidity made the heat unbearable. Last Sunday, Dhaka recorded 77 per cent humidity. The current heat wave will continue for some more times, as experts predicted. There is little chance of rain coming into the picture. Last year, too, the highest temperature was recorded at 41.5 degrees in April.
International environmental experts have already issued warning: extreme weather is in the offing. Prepare for heat waves on a scale that was once unprecedented. Even if governments abandon fossil fuels everywhere immediately and invest only in green energy, there will be new record temperatures. European climate scientists say the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere mean it is inevitable that far more parts of the world will experience more frequent and severe heat waves in the next 30 years. The greenhouse gas emissions of the last few decades now mean that regions of the planet subjected to extreme heat will double by 2020 and quadruple by 2040.
Facing rising seas, Bangladesh today confronts yet another consequence of climate change -heat wave. There is no doubt that preparations within Bangladesh have been inadequate, but any such preparations are bound to fail because the problem is far too big for any single government. The effects of climate change have led to a growing sense of outrage in Bangladesh. This has contributed little to the pollution that is linked to rising temperatures and sea levels but will suffer the most from the consequences.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while addressing the UN summit on climate change, had stressed the urgency of a common commitment to meeting the emergency needs. The refugees caused by climate change, said the Prime Minister, increase day by day. The rising temperatures and rising sea levels are destroying the habitat of fish and the lives of our fishermen. There are increasing natural disasters, erosion of riverbanks and salinity of rivers that endanger the lives of millions of households engaged in agriculture in Bangladesh.  
It is against this backdrop that the Prime Minister had stressed that the international funds dedicated to development should be diverted to emergencies. Climate change has an impact of between 0.5 and 1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). A one meter rise in sea levels -- caused by global warming -- would flood 18 per cent of Bangladesh, causing at least 20 million refugees for a total of 40 million individuals denied of their forms of livelihood by 2050. Bangladesh needs massive external support for adapting to such a climate change.
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