Climate change is increasing global warming.
Global warming is increasing due to excess consumption of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons). Bangladesh is one of its victims. The recent heatwave indicates that. In April this year, people’s life in Bangladesh was disturbed due to intense heat.
At that time, Chuadanga recorded a temperature of 42.3 degrees Celsius, the highest in 58 years. Apart from this, another heat wave has started again since May 30. Although there is some relief from the temporary rains, there is no way to eliminate this scorching heat, which is far from permanent, even for a long time.
Global climate change, deforestation, industrial growth, greenhouse gas emissions, unplanned urbanization, and overpopulation caused Bangladesh’s extreme heat. However, researchers have named global warming the main cause of heat waves due to the overuse of greenhouse gases.
Earth’s average temperature rise is 1.77 degrees Celsius. Due to the effect of greenhouse gases, it has increased to 4.5 degrees Celsius. Over the last decade (2011-2020), the surface temperature has risen by 1.09 degrees Celsius compared to 1850-1900.
If not take appropriate measures to reduce the temperature, the global temperature may increase by 2 to 3 degrees in this century. If the sea level goes up by more than 1.5 meters and the ice from the poles melts, several coastal areas such as the Maldives and cities like New York, London, Seoul, and Tokyo could risk sinking.
Its impact will also fall on countries prone to natural disasters, like Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the seventh most affected country by climate change, despite contributing only 0.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to German Watch’s Global Climate Risk Index 2021.
The water level in the Bay of Bengal will rise by about 1 meter during this century. There is a danger that 15.8 percent of the total land of Bangladesh will submerge in water. About 70 percent of the Sundarbans will sink. By 2050, 18 million people will displace, and 1 in 7 will become climate refugees.
By 2100, this number will reach 50 million, according to Scientific American magazine. According to an estimate by the Asian Development Bank, more than 1.14 million people were internally displaced in Bangladesh between 2010-21.
Besides, global warming and climate change will increase the severity of natural disasters. Extreme heat, cyclones, floods, salinity, floods, droughts, lightning, river bursts, earthquakes, etc., have increased alarmingly than before. Bangladesh is in the first position among the countries at risk of floods due to climate.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, Bangladesh faced 185 natural disasters between 2000-2019 and suffered US$3.72 billion in damages.
Every year, 0.8-1.1 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP has been damaged due to climate-related natural disasters. According to the IPCC — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, about 850,000 households, and 250,000 farmlands were affected between 2014-21 due to global warming and climate change. According to WMO, about 500,000 people have died in Bangladesh due to climate-related natural disasters in the last 50 years.
Countries need concerted cooperation to reduce the adverse effects of global warming and climate change. We must strengthen global partnerships to implement the actions and agreements adopted at climate summits over the past years.
In particular, countries should be more committed to meeting the commitments made in the Paris Agreement at the COP-21 conference in 2015 to keep global warming below two °C and the average temperature below 1.5°C by 2100.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, afforestation, adaptation to changing environment, increasing mitigation activities, sustainable development, and planned urbanization.
Bangladesh has already taken numerous effective steps, including Climate Change Trust Fund Act, 2010, Delta Plan 2100, Bangladesh – Coastal Greenbelt Project, Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009, National Plan for Disaster Management, Cyclone Preparedness Programm (CPP), Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan.
Bangladesh can reduce the negative impact of climate change through proper implementation and cooperation of everyone from their respective positions.
