The world is witnessing abnormal behavior of global weather due to the adverse effects of climate change.

On the hot sands of the desert, where one had to cry for a drop of water, the image of rain and greenery emerged in the desert. On the other hand, Europe, which is cold most of the year, shows the opposite picture.

A photo of UK street signal lights melting in extreme heat has gone viral on social media. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned in a recent report that if global temperatures are not reduced now, the world will suffer severe consequences very soon.

However, Bangladesh is facing significant problems due to global climate change. In the last month (April 2023), intense heat became unbearable in public life, like fifteen and twenty days in a row.

At that time, a temperature of 42.3 degrees Celsius was recorded in Chuadanga, breaking the 58-year record of the highest temperature. Due to climate change, natural disasters are increasing alarmingly.

In 2015, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-21) was held in Paris, the capital of France. It commits to limiting global temperature increase to 2°C by 2100 and limiting it below 1.5°C by 2050 by achieving greenhouse gas emissions net zero.

Apart from this, initiatives have been taken to form a climate fund where the Rich and Industrialized countries pledge to help $100 billion. However, the current Secretary General tweeted about the adverse effects of global climate change.

In his tweet, he referred to the global catastrophe caused by climate change and expressed his anger at the failure of developed countries to comply with the Paris climate agreement. Although the agreement calls for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, many industrialized nations must comply.

Many countries have yet to contribute money to the climate fund promised to be created for the least-developed countries affected by climate change. Especially countries like the USA, UK, Canada or Australia need to catch up in depositing money to climate funds.

Environmental scientists have warned the world about climate change’s adverse effects for the past few decades. But their fears are becoming actual day by day. The adverse effects of climate change are being observed in the world. Several countries are facing losses. The South Asian country of Maldives is in extreme danger.

The country’s government is already raising funds to buy land in other countries. Rising sea levels may submerge the entire country in the near future. An underwater cabinet meeting was held under the leadership of the then President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, to draw the world’s attention to climate change.

Bangladesh is one of the countries affected by global climate change. Puerto Rico, Myanmar, Haiti, the Philippines, Mozambique, and the Bahamas are at the top of this list. Apart from this, there are Pakistan, Thailand, and Nepal.

The impact of climate change is evident in Bangladesh over the last two decades. Bangladesh has always been a disaster-prone country due to geography, and global warming has increased the severity of disasters.

In particular, natural disasters such as extreme heat, sea cyclones, floods, droughts, salinity in coastal areas, river erosion, or lightning have increased alarmingly, which affects our everyday life.

The Global Climate Index-2021 report says that 185 climate change-related significant disasters have hit Bangladesh in the last 20 years. These include floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and landslides, and 11 thousand 450 people died. And the economic loss is 372 million dollars.

Cyclone is a natural disaster that has increased in Bangladesh due to global warming. Especially in the last decade and a half, on average, one or more marine cyclones have formed almost every year. After the indescribable rampage of the disastrous Cyclone Sidr in 2007, several catastrophic cyclones hit the country’s coastal areas.

Among which Aila, Mahasen, Bulbul, Fani, Roanu, and Mora are one. Although the country’s capacity to deal with disasters has increased, coastal people are still helpless in the face of natural disasters. Due to global climate change, Bangladesh ranks second in terms of the impact of cyclones. As a result of global warming, cyclones are now a common occurrence in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

As a result of sea level rise, the melting of Himalayan glaciers is changing the course of rivers; excess rains are causing landslides from upstream, causing floods in the northern part of the country. Especially last year, there was a terrible flood in Sylhet and Sunamganj. Millions of people are affected. Cropland and livestock are affected.

Due to the closure of educational institutions for a long time, students are facing loss. A national daily report recently said that about ten thousand educational institutions were closed for different periods due to climate change and natural disasters last year. Bangladesh ranks first among countries at risk of flooding due to climate change.

Disasters like lightning have increased in Bangladesh due to climate change. The number of deaths due to lightning has risen significantly. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief has declared lightning as a natural disaster, considerably since the number of deaths due to lightning has grown over the last decade.

According to the SAARC Meteorological Research Centre, Bangladesh has the highest number of lightning deaths among the SAARC countries. According to American researchers,  one-fourth of the number of people who die due to lightning are killed in Bangladesh.

Apart from this, the salinity of the soil is increasing as the coastal areas are flooded due to the rise in the sea level or the tidal surge caused by the cyclones, and the croplands are damaged. After the disastrous Sidr of 2007, coastal people could not grow crops in their cropland for long due to salinity problems.

A survey shows that salinity in Patuakhali has increased from 2 ppt to 7 ppt. In addition, non-rain at the time of need or excessive rain is also observed for the past few years. Due to this, there is an adverse effect on agriculture.

As a result of climate change and global warming, countries like Bangladesh are causing massive loss of life and property. Although many meetings and discussions have been held on the world’s weather and climate change, many developed countries must comply with the climate agreement. Therefore, disaster-prone countries are at risk day by day.

If industrialized countries are serious about this, a country like Maldives can stay on the world map. A large coastal area of ​​Bangladesh may go underwater. Bangladesh will move towards severe natural disasters, many currently being observed.