Author: Santu Das, Bangladesh
Bangladesh ranks seventh on the 2021 World Climate Risk Index, marking it as highly susceptible to climate change impacts. Despite its minimal contribution to global emissions, the country faces significant challenges due to its geographical location and flat terrain. Factors like dense population, poverty, and reliance on climate-sensitive sectors, especially water resources, agriculture, fisheries, and livestock, heighten its vulnerability to climate change. This susceptibility is exacerbated by climate-induced disasters such as cyclones, floods, droughts, sea-level rise, and more. These challenges hinder Bangladesh's development progress and jeopardize socioeconomic advancement and human well-being. The number of internal climate migrants may reach 19.9 million by 2050, comprising half of those in the entire South Asian region. The current rate of annual loss to gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately 1.3 percent due to climate-induced disasters may rise to 2 percent by 2050 and over 9 percent by 2100 under extreme scenarios.
Comments