Bangladesh : Finding It Difficult to Keep Cool
Bangladesh is a low-lying river delta with a long coastline of 711 kilometers and floodplains that occupy 80 percent of the country (Hasib and Chathoth 2016). The country experiences a multitude of natural disasters every year. Severe floods, cyclo...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/856261634014774504/Bangladesh-Finding-It-Difficult-to-Keep-Cool-Synthesis-Report http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36534 |
| Summary: | Bangladesh is a low-lying river delta
with a long coastline of 711 kilometers and floodplains that
occupy 80 percent of the country (Hasib and Chathoth 2016).
The country experiences a multitude of natural disasters
every year. Severe floods, cyclones, storms, tidal surges,
and river erosion frequently cause loss of life, with
devastating social and economic impacts. These extreme
weather events are expected to be exacerbated by the effects
of climate change (Rahman et al. 2019). The Government of
Bangladesh’s National Climate Vulnerability Assessment
identified a number of climate-related hazards in 2018 that
are critical for Bangladesh, including increasing
temperature and heat stress; more frequent and longer
droughts; increasing rainfall intensity; higher river flows
and flood risks; greater riverbank erosion; sea level rises
and salinity intrusion; landslides; and increasing intensity
of cyclones, storm surges, and coastal flooding (Government
of Bangladesh 2018). In rural areas, where nearly 80 percent
of the population live, climate change has an immediate and
direct effect on the health and wellbeing of millions of
people who depend on natural resources for their
livelihoods. The impacts of climate change are also
increasingly felt in large cities that are exposed to
various climate-induced hazards, including variations in
temperature, excessive and erratic rainfall, water logging,
flooding, and heat and cold waves (Rabbani et al. 2011).
These hazards are exacerbated by high population density,
poverty, rural–urban migration, illiteracy, and a lack of
public utilities and services (Rabbani et al. 2011). Rapid
urbanization and a growing urban slum population are quickly
changing the population dynamics in Bangladesh, and this has
implications for climate-induced health risks (Mani and Wang
2014). The country has the world’s highest rate of
mortalities that are caused by natural disasters, with more
than half a million people lost to disaster events since
1970. Most of these deaths have occurred during floods or
cyclones (Nahar 2014). Not long ago, Bangladesh was hit by
two major cyclones: Sidr in 2007 and Aila in 2009. Cyclone
Sidr killed 3,406 people while more than 55,000 sustained
physical injuries. Heavy rain and tidal waves caused by wind
effects led to extensive physical destruction and damage to
crops and livestock. After Cyclone Sidr, an assessment by
the Government of Bangladesh found widespread outbreaks of
diarrhea, dysentery, acute respiratory infection, and
pneumonia. Children ages five or younger were the most
vulnerable (Kabir et al. 2016b). Cyclone Aila hit the
southern coastline of Bangladesh and partly damaged the
Sundarbans. Along with outbreaks of diarrheal diseases was
an acute scarcity of drinking water and food (Kabir et al.
2016b). With the number and intensity of such storms or
cyclones projected to increase, climate change can reverse
some of the significant gains Bangladesh has made in
improving health-related outcomes, particularly in reducing
child mortality, improving maternal health, and improving
nutritional outcomes. |
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