Bangladesh is currently going through an unprecedented heatwave, with our urban spaces especially feeling the burn. The fast-paced nature of megacities entails more concrete establishments, busier roads, and higher levels of pollution -- all of which contribute to the mercury rising.
Cities are generally hotter areas due to urban heat island effect, and one of the more overlooked measures for cities to counter rising temperatures is by having more dedicated green spaces.
While greening up our cities and urban landscapes has been a point of discussion in the past, not much has been done yet to really implement a comprehensive “green plan.”
Clearly the time is now for such initiatives to come to fruition.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recently predicted a rise in temperatures by 1-2 degree Celsius both during the day and night across the country. While it is indeed a direct result of the global climate crisis that we are living through, there are steps we as a nation can take immediately to mitigate some of the effects.
Dedicated green spaces need to be established all over the cities in order to counter the damage being dealt to not just living conditions but to our overall health as well. Environmental temperature over a certain point is simply unsustainable for life, human or otherwise, and having more dedicated green spaces in cities is a proven way to keep temperatures in check.
As a nation on the frontlines of climate change, Bangladesh is especially vulnerable to its effects. A good way to counter those effects, then, is to be mindful of the way we urbanize, and making way for dedicated green spaces is one of the vest ways for us to start.
