Changes in rainfall patterns are a significant cause of natural disasters
Experts have warned that natural disasters in the Himalayan region could escalate due to changes in the duration of rainfall.
For example, they have shown the ongoing severe floods in Bangladesh’s northeast region. They attributed the catastrophic effects of the floods to unusually heavy rainfall and unscientific water management methods in the lowlands due to climate change.
Anjal Prakash, Director of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s (IPCC) Ocean and Chromosphere Research Division, said, “Climate change is causing pre-monsoon rainfall and changing the type of rainfall, including warmer climates.
This year has led to floods in the Himalayan region, especially in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh. The pattern of rainfall in the Himalayan region is changing. It is somehow heading towards unfavorable weather.
India has experienced flash floods in two stages. Extreme levels of rainfall have caused landslides, and floods have killed many people.”
His study predicted a humid climate for the region due to climate change. According to the study, changing the type of rainfall means there will be 2-3 times more heavy rainfall in the monsoon, and the rest of the time will be dry.
Laurergarh in Bangladesh’s Sunamganj and Lalakhale in Sylhet have already received more than average rainfall this month.
According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center, the expected average rainfall in Laurergarh was 1495 mm, but this time it was 1648 mm. The average rainfall in Lalakhale was 2059 mm, but it was 2129 mm this time.
On the warming of the Indian Ocean, Dr. Roxy Matthew Cole, IPCC Ocean, and Cryosphere lead author said, “In the climate assessment report that strong monsoon winds in the Bay of Bengal are carrying much more humidity than before due to global warming.
An increase in temperature will increase the overall humidity level in the atmosphere. This is because ‘warm air retains more moisture for a long time. So, the heavy rainfall we are seeing now could be due to the effects of climate change. “
Referring to changes in the type of rainfall in the South Asian region, he said that the kind of monsoon in South Asia has been changing since the 1950s.
The most notable change is that the monsoon season has now divided into heavy rains and dry seasons. For every one-degree Celsius increase in temperature, the total amount of rainfall will increase by 7 percent. In seasonal areas, it can increase up to 10 percent.
AKM Saiful Islam, a professor at the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said,
“The nature of floods has changed over the years. We saw floods before the rains in May. Now we are seeing another terrible flood in the northern part of Bangladesh.”
“We have huge floods at the beginning of the monsoon, which was not even a few decades ago. Not only that, the amount of rain is increasing year after year. It has rained about 6-7 times a month. We have to prepare for this unexpected flood,” he added.
