Bangladesh Under Siege: A geographical examination of

a country at the mercy of amplifying natural forces

Teacher: Brian McCabe
 Lesson Agenda
► Part one
► Overview of why a study of
Bangladesh is important.
► A general look at location, place,
and region.
► Bangladesh (regional) climate
► Activity
► Part two
► Natural disadvantages
► Human impact of calamities
► Potential impact from global
warming
► Quiz
 Objectives
Student will be able to:

► Locate Bangladesh on a map and identify its latitudinal position.

► Discuss the importance of studying Bangladesh.
► Analyze and discuss the geography of Bangladesh and the surrounding
region.
► Describe what Bangladesh is like.
► Discuss Bangladesh and regional climate
► Identify and analyze natural disadvantages and appreciate their history
of natural disasters.
► Understand the potential impact of global warming on Bangladesh.
Why is the study of Bangladesh
important?
► In many ways, Bangladesh is a geographical
“ground zero”
► Bangladesh is vulnerable from tropical
cyclones, storm surges, coastal erosion, and
back water effect.
► Their death rate from these natural disasters
are among the highest in the world.
► It is nation of 140 million people (3X less just
80 years ago).
► About the size of Arkansas, Bangladesh has
about 2,350 people per square mile- making
the most population dense nation in the world
(Arkansas has only 2.5 million people at about
50 per sqm).
► Over 50 % of Bangladeshis live well below the
poverty level, making it one of the poorest
nations of Earth.
► About 82% of the population lives in rural
areas. Urban growth was limited by poor
infrastructure and conditions.
Location, Place, Region
► Pass out map handout
► Keep this map in front of you and we
will periodically add to it.
► Locate Bangladesh and shade it in,
neatly.
► Locate the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5
degrees north. Draw a line from left to
right, where this latitude would be.
► Locate India and Myanmar and label
them.
► Locate the Himalayan range and neatly
shade in where it would be on a
completed map.
► Locate the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean,
and the Arabian Sea and label them on
map.
 Location, Place, Region
► http://www.asu.edu/co
► Tectonics
► Has Bangladesh always been there?
► Watch movie urses/gcu600/gcu672a
►
►
Discussion:
Was Bangladesh included in this tectonic
/4Tectonics/Classroom
convergence? Yes Resources/ContDriftSe
► Being on the Eastern end of this
convergence, do you think this played a aAge.mov
role in sculpting Bangladesh’s
topography? Natural drainage zone ► An animation of the
► What mountain range was formed as a Indian sub-continent
result of this continental tectonic
convergence? Himalayas crashing into Asia.
Location, Place, Region
► Characterized by two distinctive
features: a broad deltaic plain & a small
hilly area replete with rivers.
► About 80% of its land-mass is fertile,
alluvial lowland delta plain (Plain of
Bengal or Lower Gangetic Plain).
► Most of Bangladesh is < 39 feet above
sea level.
► 67% of land is arable (define).
► Three mighty rivers combine to form the
Sundarbans or “Mouths of the Ganges”:
the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the
Meghna (aka: the GBM river system).
These rivers accommodate Himalayan
snow melt and monsoonal watershed!
 Location, Place, Region
► The Sundarbans are home to the largest
mangrove forest in the world.
► The GBM River System deposits mineral
rich silt into delta region making it highly
fertile.
► Agriculture is Bangladesh’s largest
contributor to the economy (jute, rice,
and tea).
► The country’s primary religion is Islam,
with Hindi , Buddhists, and Christians
following in that order.
► The people have a reputation of being
wonderfully kind, resourceful, and
proud.
► Dhaka, their largest city, has a
population of about 12.5 million people.
Location, Place, Region
► The region of the Indian
subcontinent is sub-tropical.
► Bangladesh is located on the Tropic
of Cancer @23.5 degrees, which
means the solar angle is direct on
what date? June 21st or Summer
Solstice.
► Because the ITCZ follows the sun,
the humid, tropical monsoonal
moisture is positioned just south in
the Indian Ocean.
► A “High” to “Low” air flow either
saturates this region or causes
drought.
 Climate
► Three seasons are recognized in this region:
► Hot & humid summer from March-June
► Cool & very rainy monsoon from June-October.
► Dry winter from October-March.
► These seasons are driven by several factors:
► Although Bangladesh is located in the Easterly Trade
Wind zone under the Hadley cell, the presence of
reliable “Highs” and “Lows” drive moisture level and
winds.
► During the winter, a Siberian “High” sends cool dry air
from Russia. However, in summer, the High becomes
a Low and a High forms over the Oceans of Southeast
Asia
► Because of high pressure, air flows from High to Low.
This means hot, humid air flows towards the Low over
Asia.
► This moist air flow then hits the Himalayas, rises,
condenses and creates intense rainfall.
► Rainfall can range from 60 to 160 inches a year!
► Pull out map handout and draw arrows indicating
monsoonal northeasterly flow. Indicate High and Low.
Climate
► Remember the GBM River
System? During monsoon
season, the GBM flows at about
140,000 cubic meters per
second (only 7,000 during dry
season).
► They are also the vehicle for
immense Himalayan watershed
from melting snow.
► Research has been done linking
snow depth with ENSO
conditions with GBM flow
volume.
 What does all this mean?
► 140 million people mostly in poverty
► In a country which is 80% below 39 feet
above sea-level (most living at or just above
SL)
► With the most intense monsoonal rainfall on
the planet
► Positioned on the delta of one of the largest
high flowing river systems in the world.
► Hmm?
Questions?
 ACTIVITY: 4 groups
► Group 1 and 2 will:
► Take two paper towels and get
them wet.
► Then, on a flat surface, push one
towards the other, until it collides.
► Push until a large ripple
representing the Himalayas forms.
► Then shape the lower towel like
India and on the right corner, tear
the napkin slightly to look like
Bangladesh.
► This activity illustrates the tectonic
history of the Indian sub-continent.
► Group 3 and 4 will
► Take tape and mark the floor with
three evenly separated pieces. Mark
top one “Tropic of Cancer” the
middle “Equator” and the lower
“Tropic of Capricorn”.
► Then write June 21st on Cancer
September 21st and March 21st on
Equator and December 21st of
Capricorn.
► Choose a student to take a helium
balloon and slowly walk from one
tape to another and observe the
balloon lagging behind.
► This is an example of how the ITCZ
lags behind the sun, causing a late
monsoon season.
Part 2
Natural Disadvantages: A closer look
Nature’s Arsenal
► TropicalCyclones
► Storm Surges
► Coastal Erosion
► Back-water effect
► Disease
► Drought
 Human Disadvantages
► Most are poor
► Shortage of land to
accommodate people
► Poor food security
► Poor healthcare
► Low literacy (28%)
► Zia International Airport
floods, inhibiting aid.
Tropical Cyclones
► About 80 tropical cyclones (TC) of
significance form in the world’s oceans,
yearly.
► 6.5% form in the Indian Ocean
► Frequency of TC in the Bay of Bengal is
5-6 times that of the Arabian Sea (5.5%
of world storms)
► Bangladesh is only hit with .93% of all
world tropical storms
► Is Bangladesh safe, then? NO
► If you look at all storms with >5000
deaths, 16 of 35 were in Bangladesh
► 53% of all world deaths related to these
storms were in Bangladesh!!! India was
second.
► Together, they are hit by only 4.27% of
all world storms.
Tropical Cyclones: History
► Bangladesh made this list
16 times, with the highest
number of deaths.
► More severe storms
caused deaths to rise in
1998, 2001 and as recently
as July of 2007 (800 dead
so far).
Storm Surges
► Storm surges are generated by
the winds and atmospheric
pressure changes induced by
cyclones.
► Wind moves water and a surge
occurs
► Bangladesh has recorded surges
up to 10 meters (about 30 feet)
not uncommonly
► These surges force sea water up
river estuaries, even reversing
river flow, on occasion
► Salt water surges up stream
causing flooding and killing
crops.
 Coastal Erosion
► GBM River System has heavy
discharge
► Wave action from intense
monsoon winds
► High astronomical tides
► Storm surges all contribute to
coastal erosion and accretion.
► The mangrove trees are the
best defense against these
forces, but are shrinking.
 Back Water Effect
► This is the retardation of a river outflow by the rise in the level of water at the
mouth.
► Storm surges create intense backwater effect.
► This occurs mostly in Bangladesh’s Meghna River estuary, through which about
90% of the river water in the country discharges.
► When this effect occurs, sea water pushes back on out-flowing river water,
thereby flooding the interior.
Disease
► In 1988 a study was done to
examine patterns of illness in
post-flood Bangladesh.
► Of 46,740 patients examined,
34% contracted severe
diarrhea, 17.4% contracted
respiratory track infections, 47%
had watery diarrhea
► Other diseases that spiked
concurrently with SLR was
Cholera and water-born illness
Human Impact
► The frequency of natural calamities the limited
ability to cope with it has led to despair,
among many Bangladeshis.
► On top is a dead baby floating in the slums
polluted river and below is a man using
heroine.
► HIV is on the rise- currently 5% of the
population is infected and estimates suggest
that by 2030, 8% will be infected.
► Driving the spread of HIV is the increase in
prostitution. Though minuscule compared to a
neighbor like Thailand or India, many
Bangladeshi women have few options
available.
► Needle sharing is also a problem: In a study, it
was found that of the 5,000 heroine users
surveyed, up to 80% share needles. Dhaka
has set up safe needle dropping stations.
 Human Impact
► http://video.google.co ► http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video
/world/2007/08/04/gallagher.india.fl
m/videoplay?docid=51 oods.am.cnn
49498932673486391&
► Watch movie (1 minute)
q=Bangladesh+floods
&total=69&start=0&nu
m=10&so=0&type=se ► http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video
arch&plindex=0 /weather/2007/08/01/vo.banglades
h.floods.reuters
► Watch movie (3:14)
Watch movie (1 minute)
► Copy & paste on
►

browser
Human Impact
 Global Warming
As if Bangladesh needs another problem…
 Global Warming
► What are the projected side-effects of global
warming?
► Sea-level rise (SLR)
► A 2-4 degree Celsius rise in Sea Surface
Temperature (SST)
 Global Warming: SST
► Now, if you apply those projected side-effects to Bangladesh, the
following outcomes have been proposed by researchers:
► Using high cyclonic frequency zones on the planet (western North
Pacific and the Pacific west of Central America and later the eastern
Atlantic off the coast of Africa) scientists have identified that SST and
cyclonic frequency are likely related.
► Although no direct data supports a link in the Bay of Bengal, if you
look at the 115 cyclones from 1877 to 1990 and the 250 cyclonic
storms that barely lasted a day, or hit land, and then ask whether that
would be the case with a 2-4C rise in SST. Some think a percentage of
these storms would have upgraded.
► A greater SST may result in a greater convective instability- leading to
an increase in wind speed. The potential result: higher storm surges
 Global Warming: SLR
► A SLR (sea level rise) would only intensify the amplitude of these
projections.
► Coastal erosion will suffer greater, under global warming conditions.
The formula by Bruun (1962) has been used to formulate SLR effects:
► x= ab/ (e+d)
► x: shoreline recession due to SLR a: rise in water from SLR e:
elevation of shore
► d: depth of water at a distance and b distance from coastline
► Formula results: coastal erosion due to SLR is about 87 times the SLR
► Example: If SLR is .30 m then the coastal recession will be .18 to .39
m per 1 cm rise of ocean
 Hope and the Future
► Bangladeshis are wonderfully
optimistic and resourceful.
► Efforts are being made to afforest
the mangrove protection zones in
the delta.
► Flood-deterrent construction
projects are being engineered.
► Bangladesh government is
sponsoring and building many
cyclone shelters
► Zia International airport is looking
to raise runways and build flood
deterrent walls, so that aid may get
in.
► Better warning systems are being
put in place.
Questions?
 Sources
► See Lecture Notes