Bangladesh is a beautiful green country but now it is in danger of losing its beauty because of the effects of climate change. Bangladesh is located in South Asia. It shares its borders with India and Myanmar (Burma). According to Wikipedia, most of Bangladesh is covered by the Bengal Delta, the largest delta on Earth. The country has 700 rivers and 8,046 km (5,000 mi) of inland waterways. Bangladesh’s climate is tropical with a mild winter from October to March, and a hot, humid summer from March to June. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal bores occur almost every year,(1) combined with the effects of deforestation, soil degradation and erosion. The cyclones of 1970 and 1991 were particularly devastating, the latter killing some 140,000 people.(2)
According National Geographic Bangladesh is one the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change. Wikipedia says that it is projected that, by 2020, from 500 to 750 million people will be affected by water stress caused by climate change around the world. In September 1998, Bangladesh was hit by the most dangerous flood in the history of the modern world. More than 300,000 houses were swallowed by the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Meghna river. More than 1000 people were killed and 30 million people homeless. Domesticated animals like cattle were killed too, over 130,000. Furthermore, almost two-thirds of the country was underwater. The reference in Wikipedia says that the severity of the flooding was attributed to unusually high monsoon rains, the shedding off of equally unusually large amounts of melt water from the Himalayas, and the widespread cutting down of trees (that would have intercepted rain water) for firewood or animal husbandry.(3) In addition to this, Bangladesh is also vulnerable to sea level rise because of the melting of the polar ice. Since the earth is warming up every year thanks to climate change and the ice are melting, developing country like Bangladesh is getting effected by climate change the most. We do not have any resources or the wealth to fix 300,000 houses immediately if when we get hit by big floods. I was personally affected by the flood in 1998 which most defiantly was caused by climate change. I still remember we had to sleep on the rooftop of our house because there was water all over inside the house. My Grandfather was a farmer back then, I remember all of his crops were destroyed by the flood along with all the people in the village. It was very difficult time for every family since everyone was very dependent on farming. I am afraid if something like that happens again, which it might soon, it won’t be a pleasant thing to witness. I encourage people in the world to take climate change seriously because not only is my home country of Bangladesh being affected by this, but many other developing countries are also being affected by climate change.
Sources.
- Alexander, David E. (1999) [1993]. “The Third World”. Natural Disasters. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 532. ISBN 978-0-412-04751-0.
- Jump up^“Beset by Bay’s Killer Storms, Bangladesh Prepares and Hopes“. Los Angeles Times. 27 February 2005
- Haggett, Peter (2002) [2002]. “The Indian Subcontinent”. Encyclopedia of World Geography. New York: Marshall Cavendish. pp. 2, 634. ISBN978-0-7614-7308-4. OCLC 46578454.
One Response
Climate change is a major issue in the world, however, not many people are approaching it the right way. We need take action sooner or later, but the earlier we take action, the better it is. I was born in Bangladesh and it is a country that is still trying to develop. Bangladesh is well known for their population growth and the Bangladesh people often depend on agriculture growth. It is very important that the country takes climate change as a big threat to the country and it is also important for the government to educate and teach the people about the affect and how to prevent from adding to climate change. According NCDO.NL, the ways that Bangladesh faces climatic change impacts are the following;
1) Floods / Flash Floods,
2) Cyclones and Storm Surges,
3) Salinity Intrusion,
4) Extreme Temperature and Drought.
Bangladesh faces many types of Natural Disasters because of climate change. According to NCDO.NL, some of the impacts are;
1) Agriculture and Fisheries
2) Water Resources and Hydrology
3) Coastal Areas
4) Forestry / Biodiversity
5) Urban areas
6) Vulnerable groups
The people of Bangladesh are impacted and they don’t know the reason or how to prevent these climate change impacts. Bangladesh consists of many working class people, who are not often educated. So therefore, they often depend on farming. According to NationEncyclopedia, agriculture is the major part of the country’s economy, and it contributes 19.6 percent to the nation’s GDP and most importantly, 63 percent of the country’s population is employed in the agriculture sector. Therefore, the government job is to focus on climate effects on the agriculture in the country. Climate change greatly impacts millions specifically when there are natural disasters. Farmers who work with all types of crops may be affected in many ways. That’s why it is important to educate the people of Bangladesh and help prepare them for the future and teach them how can survive through disasters. Bangladesh isn’t the only developing nation who is struggling through this climate change effect. There are many other countries, who are facing this challenge. The government should consider climate change as a threat to the country and developed nations should come together and work on a plan how to fix and help developing nations.
1) http://www.ncdo.nl/artikel/climate-change-its-impacts-bangladesh
2) https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Bangladesh-AGRICULTURE.html