Tareen Rahman :
The recently felt extreme heat in Bangladesh is a result of global warming effect as expressed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)– the leading international body for the assessment of Climate Change.
This will have an adverse effect upon the agriculture produce in Bangladesh, as well as the possibility of destroying necessary infrastructure for people to live.
Climate Change has the ability to induce greater instances of extreme weather events in the short-term, such as more intense cyclones which can lead to intense storm surges, or variability in temperature and precipitation which can lead to droughts and flooding.
According to the IPCC, in the long-term, climate change will cause sea level rise. The result of sea level rise on the low lying coastal areas of Bangladesh may cause loss of agriculture, livelihood, and forced migration and many cases of extreme poverty.
In terms of climate, Bangladesh is characterized by high temperature, heavy rainfall, high humidity, and fairly marked seasonal variations. Although over half of Bangladesh is north of the tropics, the climate is characterized as tropical for most of the year because of the effect of the Himalayan Mountain chain, with a warm, almost uniformly humid climate throughout most of the year.
There are three main seasons in Bangladesh:
i. A hot summer season, with high temperature (exceeding 40°C for 10 days in the West), a high rate of evaporation, and erratic but heavy rainfall from March to June;
ii. A hot and humid monsoon season, with temperature ranging between 20°C and 36°C with heavy rainfall from June to October. This amounts to around two thirds of the annual rainfall.
iii. A cooler and drier winter from November to March, with temperature ranging from 8°C to 15°C, with minimum temperature of 5°C in the North.
Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas in the world, formed by a dense network of the distributaries of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and the Meghna, and more than 230 major rivers and their tributaries and distributaries.
The extent of flooding is exacerbated by the sediment loads brought by the three major Himalayan rivers, coupled with a negligible flow gradient, which increases congestion.
Precipitation extreme will result in increased rainwater flooding, both because of the increase in monsoon rains, and because of the increased incidences of flash floods associated with increased intensity of precipitation interrupted by sustained dry spells, increasing the surface runoff when it rains.
Sea level rise will directly result in increased coastal flooding, which will increase in the event of storm surges. Sea level rise is also associated with increased riverine flooding, because it causes more backing up of the Ganges-Brahmaputra- Meghna rivers along the delta.
Higher temperature will result in increased glacier melt, increasing runoff from the neighbouring Himalayas into the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers in the short term, with the possibility of their drying up in the long term .
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report states that glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world, and this can be attributed primarily to global warming.
Increased intensity of cyclone winds and precipitation will also result from the warming of the Northern Indian Ocean. The IPCC conclude that there is evidence of a 5-10 per cent increase in intensity (wind speed) that would contribute to enhanced storm surges and coastal flooding, and also project a 20 percent increase in intensity of associated precipitation that would contribute to flooding.
The IPCC also note that climate change will be associated with greater precipitation extremes, which includes more intense monsoon rainfall.
The recently felt extreme heat in Bangladesh is a result of global warming effect as expressed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)– the leading international body for the assessment of Climate Change.
This will have an adverse effect upon the agriculture produce in Bangladesh, as well as the possibility of destroying necessary infrastructure for people to live.
Climate Change has the ability to induce greater instances of extreme weather events in the short-term, such as more intense cyclones which can lead to intense storm surges, or variability in temperature and precipitation which can lead to droughts and flooding.
According to the IPCC, in the long-term, climate change will cause sea level rise. The result of sea level rise on the low lying coastal areas of Bangladesh may cause loss of agriculture, livelihood, and forced migration and many cases of extreme poverty.
In terms of climate, Bangladesh is characterized by high temperature, heavy rainfall, high humidity, and fairly marked seasonal variations. Although over half of Bangladesh is north of the tropics, the climate is characterized as tropical for most of the year because of the effect of the Himalayan Mountain chain, with a warm, almost uniformly humid climate throughout most of the year.
There are three main seasons in Bangladesh:
i. A hot summer season, with high temperature (exceeding 40°C for 10 days in the West), a high rate of evaporation, and erratic but heavy rainfall from March to June;
ii. A hot and humid monsoon season, with temperature ranging between 20°C and 36°C with heavy rainfall from June to October. This amounts to around two thirds of the annual rainfall.
iii. A cooler and drier winter from November to March, with temperature ranging from 8°C to 15°C, with minimum temperature of 5°C in the North.
Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas in the world, formed by a dense network of the distributaries of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and the Meghna, and more than 230 major rivers and their tributaries and distributaries.
The extent of flooding is exacerbated by the sediment loads brought by the three major Himalayan rivers, coupled with a negligible flow gradient, which increases congestion.
Precipitation extreme will result in increased rainwater flooding, both because of the increase in monsoon rains, and because of the increased incidences of flash floods associated with increased intensity of precipitation interrupted by sustained dry spells, increasing the surface runoff when it rains.
Sea level rise will directly result in increased coastal flooding, which will increase in the event of storm surges. Sea level rise is also associated with increased riverine flooding, because it causes more backing up of the Ganges-Brahmaputra- Meghna rivers along the delta.
Higher temperature will result in increased glacier melt, increasing runoff from the neighbouring Himalayas into the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers in the short term, with the possibility of their drying up in the long term .
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report states that glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world, and this can be attributed primarily to global warming.
Increased intensity of cyclone winds and precipitation will also result from the warming of the Northern Indian Ocean. The IPCC conclude that there is evidence of a 5-10 per cent increase in intensity (wind speed) that would contribute to enhanced storm surges and coastal flooding, and also project a 20 percent increase in intensity of associated precipitation that would contribute to flooding.
The IPCC also note that climate change will be associated with greater precipitation extremes, which includes more intense monsoon rainfall.
