Bangladesh, a country located in South Asia is the most affected country by climate change in the world. Climate change in Bangladesh has a huge impact on people in their everyday life, agriculture and infrastructure. It effects poor people most, rather than rich people because when people with money get effected by the climate change, they have other resources to cover their losses and they don’t depend on one thing. On the other hand, when a poor person suffers from a climate change their life stops because they don’t have income from different sources. About two thirds of Bangladesh’s population is engaged in agriculture which means a majority of poor people in Bangladesh are farmers. Farming is the only means for them to make a living and if something is wrong with the climate change, such as flooding or drought, they are the first ones that suffers the most. The farmers in Bangladesh don’t work for the money, they work for the food, they don’t have any interest in saving money so it’s heartbreaking to see how much difficulties they face in their lifetime. The main reason for climate change impacts is the geographical location of the country, making it highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Bangladesh has a flat, low lying landscape, and lack of institutional setup which makes it easy for all the floods, drought, storms, and sea level rise.
Bangladesh often makes top news all over the world. However, unlike most other countries, it is not because of politics but for destructive natural disasters causing huge death tolls and massive damage. The most common disasters are floods and cyclones. According to the article “Climate Change & its Impacts on Bangladesh” Rezaul Karim states that the total land area almost 80% consists mostly of Floodplains leaving major part of the country lying to flooding during the rainy season. Most places get flooded and it gets difficult for all people to travel to work and school. Sometimes the water gets so high people can drown. During that season people use boats to travel to their destination. Heavy flooding can destroy the lives of thousands of people. The economy of Bangladesh is based on agriculture mainly, about two thirds of the population engage in agricultural activities. The overall impact of climate change on agricultural production in Bangladesh is widespread and damaging to the country’s economy. Almost one fourth of the total population lives in coastal areas of Bangladesh and is where they are affected by Coastal Floods, River-bank Destruction, Tropical Cyclones etc. According to the article “Climate Change & its Impacts on Bangladesh” Rezaul Karim states that with the rise of Sea-level, Bangladesh could lose up to 15% of its land area under the Sea water and around 30 million people living in the coastal areas of Bangladesh could become Refugees because of Climate Change impacts. Since most of the country is less than 10 meters above Sea level and almost 10% of the population of the country is living below 1-meter distance from the ground – the whole coastal area is Highly Vulnerable to High Floods and Storm Waves. According to the article “Climate change and global justice” by Sadia Arefin, states that “a woman living near the Bay of Bengal, has been shattered by climate change thrice in one year. Once a Cyclone of 140mph wind ripped through her village, this disaster killed about 6,000 people, flattening their houses and crops, and devastated the lives of millions, including her. The second Cyclone hit the Bay 3 months later, but this one was even worse”. Overall, climate change in Bangladesh is a massive issue, it is intensely destructive and has killed many lives. Middle class families and farmers are the most impacted. Farmers have lost crops and animals which is their only source of income, they work for food not for money. If the farmers can’t produce food no one will be able eat and survive. Although climate change impacts many countries, we have to protect the world and make it a safe home for our future generations.
References
http://www.ncdo.nl/artikel/climate-change-its-impacts-bangladesh
http://www.theindependentbd.com/printversion/details/104046
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