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INTRODUCTION

Bangladesh is recognized worldwide as one of the most vulnerable countries to

the impacts of global warming and climate change. This is due to its unique
geographic location, dominance of floodplains, low elevation from the sea, high
population density, high levels of poverty, and overwhelming dependence on
nature, its resources and services. The country has a history of extreme climatic
events claiming millions of lives and destroying past development gains.
Variability in rainfall pattern, combined with increased snow melt from the
Himalayas, and temperature extremes are resulting in crop damage and failure,
preventing farmers. In a changing climate the pattern of impacts are eroding our
assets, investment and future. Global warming and climate change threatens
settlements and the number of people displaced from their land due to riverbank
erosion, permanent inundation and sea level rise which are increasing rapidly
every year. Resources and efforts of government and people are quickly drained
addressing the impact of one event when another hazard strikes. Impacts of global
warming and climate change have the potential to challenge our development
efforts, human security and the future.

Concepts of Climate Change

Climate change, also called global warming, refers to the rise in average surface
temperatures on Earth. An overwhelming scientific consensus maintains that
climate change is due primarily to the human use of fossil fuels, which releases
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air. The gases trap heat within
the atmosphere, which can have a range of effects on ecosystems, including rising
sea levels, severe weather events, and droughts that render landscapes more
susceptible to wildfires.

Scientists have warned that the world's climate has been changed a lot and it has
affected many living and non-living things. Many places that were warmer are
now getting colder, and many colder regions are getting much more colder or
even warmer this is known as Global Warming.
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Climate change is a long-termterm change in the earth's climate, especially a change

due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature. Example, melting
glaciers imply that life in the Arctic is affected by climate change.

Geographical Background of
o Bangladesh

The physical, social and economic conditions of Bangladesh are relevant to its
status as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.

Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas in the world, formed by a dense network of
the distributaries of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and the Meghna, and more
than 230 major rivers and their tributaries and distributaries. The total land area is
147, 5700 sq km and consists mostly of low, flat land (see
( map 1). 80 per cent of
the land is floodplain, and only in the extreme northwest do elevations exceed 30
metres above mean sea level. Between 30-70
30 70 per cent of the country is normally
flooded each year. Thee extent of flooding is exacerbated by the sediment loads
brought by the three major Himalayan rivers, coupled with a negligible flow
gradient, which increases congestion.

Map 1: The major rivers of Bangladesh.

Source: (Reliefweb) www.reliefweb.int/

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In terms of climate, Bangladesh is characterised by high temperatures, heavy

rainfall, high humidity, and fairly marked seasonal variations. Although over half
of Bangladesh is north of the Tropics, the climate is characterised as tropical for
most of the year because of the effect of the Himalayan mountain chain, with a
warm, almost uniformly humid climate throughout most of the year. There are
three main seasons in Bangladesh:

 A hot summer season, with high temperatures (exceeding 40°C for up to 10

days in the West), a high rate of evaporation, and erratic but heavy rainfall
from March to June;
 A hot and humid monsoon season, with temperatures ranging between 20°C
and 36°C with heavy rainfall from June to October. This amounts to around
two thirds of the annual rainfall.
 A cooler and drier winter from November to March, with temperatures
ranging from 8°C to 15°C, with minimum temperatures of 5°C in the North.

Climate Change and Bangladesh

The impacts of global warming and climate change are worldwide. For
Bangladesh they are most critical as large part of the population is chronically
exposed and vulnerable to a range of natural hazards. However, the following
explains the relationship between Bangladesh and Climate Change:

 Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to cyclone and
flood.

 In last 35 years, the government of Bangladesh has invested more than US$ 10
billion for making the country less vulnerable to natural disasters like flood,
cyclone, draught etc.

 The huge population of Bangladesh are in danger of displacement due to the

rising global temperature and sea level.

 Sea level rise is also causing a higher level of salinity intrusion with tide
through the rivers and estuaries. Another natural disaster intensified by climate
change is “River Erosion”
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In Bangladesh, each year, thousands of acres of land near the major rivers are
submerged due to river erosion. Following table 1 shows the most vulnerable
countries to climate change including Bangladesh:

Table 1: Most vulnerable countries to flood or cyclone.

Climate Change Scenario in Bangladesh

According to Third Assessment Report 2001 of Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC). South Asia is the most climate vulnerable region and
Bangladesh ranks high in the list of vulnerable countries. And the evident
impacts of climate change in Bangladesh are as follows:

 Sudden and Intensified Flood,

Flood
 Cyclone,
 Unpredictable rainfall,
rainfall
 Extreme temperature,
temperature
 Drought, Sea-level
level rise.
rise
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Events of climate change in Bangladesh

Flood Impacts

1984 Inundated 52,520 sq-km, affected people 100,000, cost estimated at US$378
million.

1987 Inundated over 50,000 sq-km, estimated damage US$ 1.0 billion, 2055 deaths.

1988 Inundated 61% of country, estimated damage US$ 1.2 billion, more than 45
million homeless, between 2,000-6,500 deaths.

1998 1,100 deaths, inundated nearly 100,000 sq-km, rendered 30 million people
homeless, damaged 500,000 homes, heavy loss to infrastructure, estimated
damage US$ 2.8 billion.

2004 Inundation 38%, damage US$ 6.6 billion, deaths 700, affected people nearly 3.8
million.

2007 Inundated 32000 sq-km, over 85,000 houses destroyed and 1 million damaged,
1.2 million acres of crops destroyed, damage over $1 billion, 649 deaths.

Source: National Plan for Disaster Management 2010-2015, Bangladesh Government and Bangladesh Climate
Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009.

However, Two thirds of the country is less than 5 meters above sea level. These
areas are susceptible to river, rain water and tidal flooding during storm.
Following Map 2 shows the area vulnerable to flooding in Bangladesh: Source: Centre for Environmental and Geographic
Information Services( CEGIS), Bangladesh 2009.

Map 2: Area vulnerable to flooding in Bangladesh.

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Events of climate change in Bangladesh

Cyclone Impacts

1985 11,069 deaths

1991 138,882 deaths

1997 155 deaths

2007 (SIDR) 3363 deaths , affected 8.7 million people, displaced 650,000 people.
190 deaths, affected 4.82 million people.
2009 (AILA)
2009 (BIJLI) Displaced 200,000.

Source: Bangladesh Meteorological Department 2007 and Bangladesh Government and Bangladesh Climate
Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009.

Strom surges are higher in Bangladesh than in neighbouring countries because the
Bay of Bengal narrows towards north. In recent years general cyclonic activity
has become more frequent in the Bay of Bengal. Following Map 3 shows Tracks
of Cyclones over last 50 Years in Bangladesh:

Information Services, Bangladesh 2009 and Bangladesh

Source: Centre for Environmental and Geographic

Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009.

Map 3: Tracks of Cyclones over last 50 Years

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Events of climate change in Bangladesh

Events Impacts

Heavy rainfall 333mm in July 2009 (record in last 60 years) and landslide killed 124 people.

Extreme Lowest temperature recorded 3 degree in 2013 and highest 42.8 degree in
temperature 2009. caused displacement.

Drought 21% less rain in northern districts in the same year. Drought observed even in
coastal zone. caused displacement.

Sea-level rise 1 meter sea level rise may submerge 17.5% of total land. May displace 40
million people. (IPCC, Second Assessment Report 1995). In 1995 Bhola
island was undergone water and displaced 500,000. Lohachara island (in
Ganges delta) was submerged in 2006.

Source: National Plan for Disaster Management 2010-2015, Bangladesh Government. Earth Policy Institute
Report 2010. Various governments reports and peer reviewed literatures on Bangladesh.

Causes of Climate Change

We have seen that the scientific data shows that the world's climate and weather
patterns are changing, and that this spells disaster for many people in the world,
and will impact all of us. To do something about it, we need to know the causes
of climate change.

Climate change is caused by an increase in the earth's temperature. Climate

change is occurred by two ways such as (1) Natural causes (2) Human causes.
Natural causes can include volcanic activity, a change in the energy from the sun
and variations in the earth's orbit around the sun.

Natural causes

However, this is little evidence of dramatic changes in any of these factors

sufficient to account for the dramatic temperature increases of the past few
decades, and scientists have concluded that the main cause is the increase of the
gases, water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and
chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere.
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Dominant Natural Causes

 Volcanic eruptions
 Ocean currents
 Earth orbital changes
 Solar Variations

Volcanic eruptions

A volcano is a vent in the earth's crust through which molten rock (magma), rock
fragments, gases, and ashes are ejected from the earth's interior. Volcanic
eruptions happen when lava and gas are discharged from a volcanic vent.
Volcanic eruptions often cause temporary food shortages and volcanic ash
landslides called Lahar.

The most dangerous type of volcanic eruption is referred to as a 'glowing

avalanche'. This is when freshly erupted magma forms hot pyroclastic flow which
have temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees. The pyroclastic flow is formed from
rock fragments following a volcanic explosion , the flow surges down the flanks
of the volcano at speeds of up to several hundred kilometres per hour, to distances
often up to 10km and occasionally as far as 40 km from the original disaster site.
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Earth orbital changes

For more than a century, scientists have known that Earth's ice ages are caused by
the wobbling of the planet's orbit, which changes its orientation to the sun and
affects the amount of sunlight reaching higher latitudes, particularly the polar
regions.

Solar variations

Solar variations are changes in the amount of radiant energy emitted by our Sun.
There are periodic components to these variations, the principal one being the 11
year solar cycle (or sunspot cycle), as well as fluctuations which are a periodic.
Solar activity has been measured via satellites during recent decades and through
'proxy' variables in prior times. Climate scientists are interested in understanding
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what, if any, effect variations in solar activity have on the Earth. Any such
mechanism is referred to as "solar forcing".

Ocean Currents

Ocean current is the general movement of a mass of oceanic water in a definite

direction, which is more or less similar to water streams flowing on the land
surface of the earth. ocean currents are most powerful of all the dynamics of
oceanic waters because these drive oceanic waters for thousands of kilometers
away. Factors that cause of ocean currents:

 Rotation of earth,
 Temperature variations
 Salinity differences
 Atmospheric pressure
 Winds
 Evaporation
 Tides

Ocean currents flow for great distances, create the global conveyor belt which
plays a dominant role in determining the climate of many of the Earth’s regions.
More specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the regions through
which they travel. For example, warm currents traveling along more temperate
coasts increase the temperature of the area by warming the sea breezes that blow
over them.
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Man-made causes

Scientists are now 90% sure that the major sources of the increased gases is
human activity, which has significantly increased these gases since the industrial
revolution. The major causes are the burning of fossil fuels for energy generation
and transport,
t, and agricultural activities (e.g., land clearing, fertilizer use, flood
irrigation and stock all produce greenhouse gases.)

Dominant man-made
made causes

 Greenhouse gases
 Deforestation
 Burning fossil fuels
 Coal mining
 Industrial processes

Greenhouse gases

A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation

within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the
greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water
vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Without greenhouse
gases, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F),
rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F). In the Solar System, the
atmospheres of Venus, Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause a greenhouse
effect.
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Deforestation

Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees

where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use.[2] Examples of
deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use.
The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests.[3] About 30%
of Earth's land surface is covered by forests.[4] The removal of trees without
sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and
aridity. It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Burning Fossil Fuel

Fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon deposit, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas,

derived from the accumulated remains of ancient plants and animals and used as
fuel. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels
that are considered to be one of the principal causes of global warming.
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Coal mining

Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for
its energy content, and, since the 1880s, has been widely used to generate
electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron
from iron ore and for cement production. Coal mining can result in a number of
adverse effects on the environment. Surface mining of coal completely eliminates
existing vegetation, destroys the genetic soil profile, displaces or destroys wildlife
and habitat, degrades air quality, alters current land uses, and to some extent
permanently changes the general topography of the area mined.

Observed changes in climate trends and their impacts

(Bangladesh perspectives)

Bangladesh has already experienced the adverse impacts of global warming and
climate change. The following impacts have been observed: Summers are
becoming hotter, monsoon irregular, untimely rainfall, heavy rainfall over short
period causing water logging and landslides, very little rainfall in dry period,
increased river flow and inundation during monsoon, increased frequency,
intensity and recurrence of floods, crop damage due to flash floods and monsoon
floods, crop failure due to drought, prolonged cold spell, coastal erosion,
riverbank erosion, deaths due to extreme heat and extreme cold, increasing
mortality, morbidity, prevalence and outbreak of dengue, malaria, cholera and
diarrhea, etc.
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The impacts of climate change are adding significant stress to our physical and
environmental resources, our human ability, and economic activities. IPCC in its
AR4 described with high confidence climatic anomalies and their impacts on
Bangladesh. Climate risks for Bangladesh are as follows:

Environmental Impacts Socio-economic Resources & Sectors affected

 Water resources
 Changes in rainfall patterns
 Agriculture and forestry
 Increased frequency and severity of:
 Floods  Food security
 Droughts  Human health
 Storms  Infrastructure (e.g. transport)
 Heat waves  Settlements: displacement of inhabitants and
 Changes in growing seasons and loss of livelihood
regions  Coastal management
 Changes in water quality and quantity  Industry and energy
 Sea level rise  Disaster response & recovery plans
 Glacial melt

A major concern for Bangladesh are climate change victims who are being
increased in number every day and must seek refuge due to loss of their homes,
land, settlement to river erosion, coastal erosion, and permanent inundation. It has
been reported that many of the slum dwellers in the metropolitan areas are the
victims of riverbank erosion.

Climate change and Security issue

The security in the context refers to both 'freedom from want' aspects of human
security (e.g. livelihood security, food security, health security, water security and
environmental security) and 'freedom from fear' aspects (e.g. personal security,
asset security, political security and tenure security)

The climate change in Bangladesh creates insecurities for food, water, life,
property, settlement, livelihood assets, livelihoods and others. Climatic impacts
reduce securities directly and indirectly. Environmental degradation, degradation
of land resources ultimately reduces food securities, health securities etc and at
the same time increases conflicts over resources and livelihood persuasions.
Following are limited elaborations of insecure domains:
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Food security: Loss of crop due to flood, storm surge, cyclone, and drought are
increasing every year. Salinity and permanent inundation are also limiting crop
production.

Water scarcity: Reduced precipitation, prolonged dry season and drought are
resulting scarcity of drinking water. Contamination of fresh water resources with
saline water are reported in the coastal aquifer.

Loss of property and life: An increasing number of people are suffering from
disease and losing their property and sometimes life. Increased cyclone, storm
surges, floods, river bank erosion destroys are damaging peoples properties
including land, house, cattle, and other livelihood assets and living essentials.
Frequent disasters increases damage and loss by many folds.

Land degradation and loss: Following the climate change, the river bank and
costal erosion are increasing at alarming rate. According to IPCC findings a 45
cm sea-level rise will inundate almost 10.9% of our territory and will displace 5.5
million population of our coastal regions. Salinity intrusion into the country side
reached 100km and degrades land resources. Land use for farming, shrimp and
other uses in the declining context generates conflicts.

Loss of livelihoods: Land loss and degradation, scarcity of water, floods, and
other hazards reduces livelihood opportunities. The rough sea limits fishing
opportunities. Health hazards, malnutrition, access to services prior, during and
after disasters reduces working days and opportunities.

Insecurity of women: Women and disadvantaged groups are suffering more

during disasters as they don’t receive warning in time and women has to take care
of their children, elderly and disabled.

Displacement: People compelled to move from their land to other places raises
conflicts for resources where they move. Most migrants end up in urban slums,
particularly in Dhaka (capital), and there is some evidence that this constant
influx of people is contributing to rising crime and insecurity in these areas.
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Solutions for Climate Change

To reduce the future impacts of climate change, we obviously need to reduce the
amount of greenhouse gases that we put into the atmosphere, in particular, we
need to reduce the amount of carbon. The following steps can reduce the future
impacts of climate change:

 Develop less polluting energy generation, transport and other industry.

 New agriculture methods.
 Re-forestation.
 Use less animal products, especially in food.
 Carbon sequestration( storage of carbon rather than allow it to enter the
atmosphere.

Forego Fossil Fuels—The first challenge is eliminating the burning of coal, oil
and, eventually, natural gas. This is perhaps the most daunting challenge as
denizens of richer nations literally eat, wear, work, play and even sleep on the
products made from such fossilized sunshine. And citizens of developing nations
want and arguably deserve the same comforts, which are largely thanks to the
energy stored in such fuels.

Stop Cutting Down Trees

By stopping cutting down trees and improving agricultural practices along with
paper recycling and forest management—balancing the amount of wood taken out
with the amount of new trees growing—could quickly eliminate this significant
chunk of emissions.

And when purchasing wood products, such as furniture or flooring, buy used
goods or, failing that, wood certified to have been sustainably harvested. The
sundarban and other forests are not just the lungs of the earth, they may also be
humanity's best short-term hope for limiting climate change.

One child
Falling birth rates in some developed and developing countries (a significant
portion of which are due to government-imposed limits on the number of children
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a couple can have) have begun to reduce or reverse the population explosion. It
remains unclear how many people the planet can comfortably sustain, but it is
clear that per capita energy consumption must go down if climate change is to be
controlled.

Ultimately, a one child per couple rule is not sustainable either and there is no
perfect number for human population. But it is clear that more humans means
more greenhouse gas emissions.

Future Fuels

Replacing fossil fuels may prove the great challenge of the 21st century. Many
contenders exist, ranging from ethanol derived from crops to hydrogen
electrolyzed out of water, but all of them have some drawbacks, too, and none are
immediately available at the scale needed.

Biofuels can have a host of negative impacts, from driving up food prices to
sucking up more energy than they produce. Hydrogen must be created, requiring
either reforming natural gas or electricity to crack water molecules. Biodiesel
hybrid electric vehicles (that can plug into the grid overnight) may offer the best
transportation solution in the short term, given the energy density of diesel and
the carbon neutral ramifications of fuel from plants as well as the emissions of
electric engines. A recent study found that the present amount of electricity
generation in the U.S. could provide enough energy for the country's entire fleet
of automobiles to switch to plug-in hybrids, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in
the process.

You and I can

There are some actions we can all take, such as eat less meat, pay carbon offsets
when we travel by plane, use more energy efficient transport and use less energy
at home ( avoid air conditioner). But the most important response we can make is
to support political action to provide incentives for more efficient energy
generation, transport, industry, mining, and agriculture by being willing to pay
more for goods and services.
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Conclusion

Climate change is the big challenges for Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, many lives
and wealth have been losed by natural disaster, such as Cyclone, Floods,
Droughts, Storms, Heat waves, Heavy rainfall created by climate change. The
primary cause of climate change in Bangladesh is the burning of fossil fuels, such
as oil and coal, which emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere—primarily
carbon dioxide. Other human activities, such as agriculture and deforestation, also
contribute to the proliferation of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
However, we should reduce the impact of climate change by effective steps for a
comfortable life.

References

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/10-solusions-for-climate-change/
https:// en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/greenhouse-gas
https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/link-suggesion/wpcd_2008
09_augmentd/wp/s/Solar_variation.html
https://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/about
disasters/definition-of-hazard/volcanic-eruptions/
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.pedz.uni-
mannheim.de/daten/edz-ma/ep/08/EST19195.pdf