The northwestern part of Bangladesh is likely to experience more frequent extreme weather conditions like drought, flood, thunderstorm and cold wave in the coming years due to adverse impacts of climate change, a study finds.
The average increase in temperature especially in the region, will severely affect people's livelihoods and living, the study also said.
NETZ Bangladesh, a non-profit organisation registered in Germany and Bangladesh, and Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) jointly conducted the study in seven northwestern districts of Bangladesh.
The findings of the study were unveiled yesterday at a media dialogue organised by the two organisations at Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
In future, there would be more severe droughts in summer and more devastating floods in monsoon in the region, which will affect agriculture, food security and livelihoods of millions of people, said BCAS Fellow Dr Dwijen Mallick.
To minimise the impacts, the study recommended giving special attention to the poor and char dwellers, re-excavating rivers and canals, strengthening early warning system, re-building and repairing embankments, building modern flood shelters and cattle shelters, and adopting regional plans.
BCAS Executive Director Dr Atiq Rahman said Bangladesh northwestern region, a poverty-stricken area, has also been a climate hotspot.
“They need greater capacity and resources for adaptation and disaster management, but the current policy environment in the country does not support the poorest. It needs to be solved,” he said.
