My Country of origin, Bangladesh, is facing many types of natural disasters due to climate change. Research shows climate change—a result due mainly to human activities—as the main reason for natural disasters. Over the last three decades, Bangladesh changed from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Presently, there are thousands of newly constructed mills and factories such as ceramic ones that contribute to global warming.
The Bay of Bengal in the south of Bangladesh makes the country susceptible to natural disasters. The excessive felling of trees by the country’s dense population to the immediate area of the bay hinders any resistance against cyclones. In the past, the occurrences of cyclones spanned a five to ten-year interval, but in the last 20 years, the occurrences were annual. The cyclones of 1969, 1973, 1977, 1989, and 1996 were deadly; many lives were lost and assets were destroyed. The cyclones on the Bay of Bengal were horrific because the tide traveled with great speed at a height of almost 12 feet. In 1969 almost 1 million people died and the country’s infrastructure was destroyed. Recently, the country faced several cyclones on its coastal area which p also proved deadly. Many people and livestock died, people became homeless, there were food shortages, and a lack of medicine to prevent diseases. Life became horrific.
In 1947, there were 45 million people in Bangladesh and most of the land was covered with trees. At that time the country experienced a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius during the summer and 5 degrees Celsius during winter. Presently, the country’s population is 180 million and most of the forest is used for housing, land cultivation, mills, factories, and roads. Some parts of the country experience 410C during summer and 150C during winter,–especially the southern part. If temperature rise increases in the future, the area will become a desert.
Temperature rise due to climate change is not specific to Bangladesh; many other countries of the world are experiencing rises in temperatures. Temperature rise creates severe impacts globally. It causes, for example, ice in the northern and southern hemispheres to melt rapidly and the submersion of shoreline cities. If the sea level in Bangladesh continues to rise, one-third of the land will be submerged under sea level.. Such a calamity will bring great disaster to the country. To protect countries of the world from the impacts of climate change, the United Nations should take the necessary steps. First, they should impose rules for countries where populations are growing fast, and such countries should abide by the rules to save our world.
