Special Correspondent :
Bangladesh’s average annual temperature is expected to rise by 1.0°C to 1.5°C by 2050 even if preventive measures are taken along the lines of those recommended by the Paris climate change agreement of 2015, a World Bank (WB) report says.
The report titled “Dhaka, South Asia’s Hotspots: The Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes on Living Standards” released yesterday in Dhaka also warned if no measures are taken, the country’s average temperatures are predicted to increase upto 2.5°C. The WB report says nearly half of South Asia’s population, including more than three-quarters of Bangladesh’s population, are at risk of declining living standards due to rising temperature and erratic rainfall from climate change.
The report finds that, in the last 60 years, the region’s average temperature has increased and will continue rising, which is affecting agriculture, health and productivity.
“This could cost Bangladesh 6.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product and depress the living standards of more than three-quarters of the country’s population by 2050,” the report stated.
“Around the world, and especially for Bangladesh, climate change is an acute threat to development and efforts to end poverty,” said Hartwig Schafer, WB’s Vice-President for South Asia Region.
“In addition to the coastal zones, the warming weather will severely affect the country’s inland area in the next decades. To deal with climate change, the country needs to focus on creating jobs outside the agriculture sector and improve the capacity of its government institutions. The World Bank is committed to help Bangladesh become more resilient to climate change,” he said.
According to the report, by 2050, Chittagong Division will be most vulnerable to changing climate. The top two climate hotspots will likely be Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban, which may suffer from a more than 18 percent decline in their living standards, followed by Chittagong, Rangamati, and Noakhali.
