A recent IMO research report has uncovered a new dimension to Bangladesh's climate crisis. According to the report, 80 percent of the slum dwellers in Dhaka are climate refugees. They have migrated to the capital Dhaka in search of livelihood after losing their homes due to climate change. According to the International Displacement Monitoring Center, 5.7 million people in Bangladesh have been displaced in the last six years due to climate change and natural disasters.
Scientists estimate that by 2100, sea levels could rise to 1.1 meters. Glaciers in the Andes, Central Europe, and North Asia will melt 80 percent of their ice due to global warming. As a result, about 700 million people living in low-lying areas will lose their homes and large storms and catastrophic tidal surges will increase at an alarming rate.
Intense natural disaster has been a part of our lives since millennia. Constant natural calamities in the country have been observed over the years and with climate change across the globe, the natural disasters seem to be getting more powerful. Bangladesh is one of the 15 countries in the world that are most at risk of natural disasters due to climate change. If this dangerous trend of climate change continues, there is a risk of inundation of about 60,000 sq km in about 19 districts of the country, and as a result, about 20 million people will be displaced. The poor people of the lower reaches of Bangladesh have to pay the price for this disaster. It is estimated that at present the number of climate refugees in Bangladesh is about 6 million and by 2050, about 12 million people in Bangladesh will be registered in the Climate Refugee Register.
The effects of climate change are multidimensional. Because of this change, not only will people be refugees, but it will also have an adverse effect on the economy and national life. Children are harshly affected by the adverse impact of climate change. The risk of child labor is increasing alarmingly as a result of parents losing their jobs or becoming unemployed, while the number of child marriages of girls is also increasing. UNICEF says catastrophic floods, cyclones and other environmental disasters related to climate change are threatening the lives and future of more than 19 million children in Bangladesh.
Due to climate change, about 40 percent of Bangladesh will experience severe salinity by 2060, which will adversely affect agricultural production and the natural environment.
The World Bank estimates that if this devastating trend of climate change continues, Bangladesh's per capita GDP will shrink by 14.4 percent by 2050.
In the last 20 years, the global loss due to climate change is 3.6 trillion US dollars, and by 2050 this loss could be almost five times. The longer you write about climate change, the more such alarming information will be discussed. Although the responsibility for climate change lies mainly with Europe, America and some rich countries in the Middle East, it has to be borne by Bangladesh and some underdeveloped countries along the coast.
Although there is a lot of talk about climate change, no one is taking effective action. Who will take the responsibility of 6 million climate refugees in today's Bangladesh? Who will take the responsibility of 6 million climate refugees in today's Bangladesh? Who will demand compensation for the next 1 crore 20 lakh climate refugees in Bangladesh? Most of them will end up in unhealthy slums in big cities.
Fazly Rabbi Khan is Assistant Programmer, PDBF.
