Bangladesh’s annual greenhouse gas emission of 41.61 million Mtons is barely 0.2% of the total global emission of 21.43 billion Mtons. It is the lowest in the world at 0.27 Mtons per capita.
Compare that to the global average of 4.6 Mtons per capita. And yet, Bangladesh is in the most vulnerable position in the world when it comes to the adverse effects of climate change.
Although Bangladesh is not really worth mentioning when it comes to its contribution towards mounting carbon levels, we have to face the harshest effects of climate change. Why? Is this called civilisation? While some countries are becoming wealthier by using carbon, others, like, Bangladesh, suffer.
In Bangladesh, the government has to spend half of its annual budget to repair roads, culverts, and bridges which have been damaged by seasonal floods. Every five years, it gets devastated by floods which inundate 60% of our land.
We are a cyclone-prone country. Natural calamities are allied with the people’s fates. However, climate change causes anxiety to the people of Bangladesh more because of our low-lying condition. Bangladesh has a thousand-year culture and history which is now facing the dangers of climate change.
Geographically, Bangladesh is considered a place of great biodiversity. There is a wide selection of flora and fauna here. But our ecosystem is also threatened by global warming.
As a lower riparian, the height of the sea level is near the surface table. Our sea level rises and creates a threat for the environment. The UNDF environmental group recently predicted that if there was a 1.5m rise in the sea level, 30% of low-lying areas of Bangladesh would go under seawater and 30m people would have to be relocated from coastal areas to other safe zones.
Scientists forecast that if Himalayan snow started to melt, the height of the sea level would increase by several metres and deal serious damage to life and property. Bangladesh especially faces an uninhabitable environment for its low-lying nature, and 70% of the total lands are considered low land areas.
Research shows that if the current temperature rises by 2 to 3 degree Centigrade, snow will start to liquefy and the resultant water will travel down via the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta. Bangladesh would be affected dangerously because it covers the major part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta.
Topographically, 17 coastal districts of Bangladesh will be badly affected by climate change. These areas, mostly endangered districts, are prone to be affected by the sea level rising. For instance, the coastal districts of Cox’s Bazar, Patuakhali, Bhola, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Khulna etc are the ones most vulnerable.
Most parts of these districts will be submerged in seawater; the saline water intrusions will spoil farmlands while contaminating ground water reservoirs. People would have to struggle with a scarcity of food and fresh water.
Bangladesh is a country known for various seasons such as spring, winter, summer etc, but nowadays the country does not follow every season in a timely fashion, mostly because of the way the climate is changing.
For example, recent summers have experienced unbeatable temperatures, rain is rare even during the monsoon but common during the off-spring periods. The temperature goes down unexpectedly during winters and so forth. This disorder in nature signals an uncertain future.
Geologically, 20,000 years ago the Earth had passed its second ice age, when the ice broke down and the Earth’s surface was covered by it.
The evolutionary history of Earth suggests that ice starts to crack because of global warming, which wreaks havoc on biodiversity.
Ultraviolet rays are frequently coming into contact with the Earth’s surface, shrinking the ion layer.
Industrialisation causes the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) because of the carbon trading in developed nations, indulged in for their economical growth.
From carbons stem chemical hazards such as lead, cadmium, zinc, thorium etc, which severely damages air, water and soil. These toxic chemicals are also the source of diseases such as cancer, and birth-defects which are now pretty common.
To reduce the risk of climate change, developed nations must cut down their carbon emissions. Renewable energy should be introduced to preserve nature from any anomalous situations. Planting trees can also play a beneficial role, as trees work as absorbers in maintaining a limit to the extent that global warming can occur.
A “climate fund” should also be considered and allocated to the more vulnerable countries, insuring proper distribution to mitigate risk.
The introduction of environment-friendly technology is the key to maintaining industrialisation, which will considerably lower the risk of climate change.
