The World Meteorological Day 2016 will be observed in the country today like elsewhere in the world.
The theme of the day this year is ‘Hotter, Drier, Wetter: Face The Future’.
President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday gave separate messages on the occasion of the World Meteorological Day 2016 and wished the observance of the day a success.
In his message, President Abdul Hamid said the impact of climate on flora and fauna as well as environment is very significant.
We are clearly observing the global climate change and its impact on us. With a view to protecting the existence of civilization, many programmes and action of plan have been taken globally to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, he said.
The world leaders are involving themselves in the initiatives and programmes that are taken in this regard, the President said, adding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s initiatives for mitigating the negative impact of global climate change has drawn global attention.
“She (PM) has been awarded the ‘Champions of the Earth 2015’ award, the UN highest environmental honour, in recognition of her outstanding contributions towards addressing the impact of climate change and protecting environment,” the President mentioned.
To reduce the adverse effects of climate change, he said, regional and international cooperation is of utmost importance. “By using the latest technologies for observing, analyzing and researching weather and sharing the weather data and information among the countries could play a significant role in mitigating the negative impact of climate change,” he said and expressed his satisfaction that the World Meteorological Organization has continuously been supporting the national meteorological organizations worldwide.
“I hope that Bangladesh Meteorological Department will continue to provide timely and effective weather forecasts by using the modern technologies, which in turn will contribute significantly to reduce the losses of lives and properties along with advancing socio-economic development of the country,” the President said.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said weather and climate science is not limited to a country’s geographic boundary.
“To ensure a better and safe future, sharing of weather, climate and other natural science’s information and data regionally and internationally is a must,” she said, adding that in the context of global warming and climate change, disaster risk reduction for extreme events, science-based climate information and future scenario generation, seasonal forecasting and short range forecasting and their timely delivery to the end users are very important.
Bangladesh Meteorological Department can play a key role in these areas through delivery of quality services, she noted.
Sheikh Hasina said, in December 2015, Bangladesh along with other governments of the world unanimously adopted the Paris Agreement providing for rapid and deep cuts in greenhouse emissions.
“This historic agreement commits all countries to undertake ambitious efforts to respond to the urgent threat of climate change on the basis of their common but differentiated responsibilities,” she added.
The Prime Minister said Bangladesh is one of the most disaster prone countries of the world owing to its geographic location.
Both the frequency and intensity of disasters are increasing day by day and also, the pattern of the seasons is being disturbed due to climate change, she added.
She hoped that keeping the vision of Digital Bangladesh in mind, modernization of weather services and continuous development of an effective early warning system will help us reduce the losses of life and property to natural disasters.
