Bangladesh loses $11.3 billion to climate change: UN
A recent United Nations World Meteorological Organization report reveals that Bangladesh faced roughly $11.3 billion in losses from natural disasters like tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts last year.
The report ‘State of the Climate in Asia 2023’, released on March 6, notes that thousands of people in Asia died in 2023 due to extreme weather and climate change.
Millions of people were displaced, and billions of dollars were spent. There was also huge damage to infrastructure and ecosystems.
Tropical cyclones, floods and droughts hit Asia every year. As a result, they cause losses of hundreds of billions of dollars on average every year. This was stated in the WMO report, citing calculations from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Bangladesh is ranked 9th among the top ten Asian countries most affected by natural disasters in 2023.
China has suffered the most losses due to climate change in the region. The country faces an estimated loss of $238 billion per year. China is followed by neighbouring India, with a loss of $87 billion. Then comes Japan with a loss of $83 billion, and South Korea with a loss of $24 billion.
Russia is fifth on the list in Asia, with a loss of $20 billion. Then comes Pakistan ($15.8 billion), Thailand ($12.5 billion), Iran ($12.3 billion), Bangladesh ($11.3 billion), and Vietnam ($10.8 billion).
China and India have larger economies and populations than Bangladesh, which is why they experience greater losses. But, despite its relatively small economy and size, Bangladesh is suffering a huge loss.
In May last year, Cyclone Amphan caused more than $13 billion in damage in Bangladesh, according to the WMO report.
A total of 10 million people in 19 districts were affected by Amphan. In addition, more than 330,000 homes were damaged. More than 176,000 hectares of agricultural land (crops and fish/shrimp farms) were destroyed, and 14,000 livestock lost their lives.
The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) recently stated that Bangladesh is one of the countries most at risk from environmental threats. Bangladesh is ranked 163rd out of 178 countries in the organization’s Environmental Threats Report 2021.
The WMO report states that nearly three-quarters of Asia’s mangroves are located in Bangladesh (23%), Myanmar (19%), India (17%), and Thailand (14%). Of these, Bangladesh’s mangrove forests have declined by 19 per cent from 1992 to 2019.
The report also said that 2020 was the warmest year on record in Asia. The average temperature this year was 1.39 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature from 1981-2010.
