Rafiqul has been forced to move 22 times in as many years, a victim of the annual floods that ravage Bangladesh. There are millions like Rafiqul in Bangladesh and in the future there could be many millions more if scientists' predictions of rising seas and more intense droughts and storms come true. Bangladesh is a country that stands to be one of the first to suffer from global climate change, and the time to act is now.
Climate change already touches every corner of the...
more »Rafiqul has been forced to move 22 times in as many years, a victim of the annual floods that ravage Bangladesh. There are millions like Rafiqul in Bangladesh and in the future there could be many millions more if scientists' predictions of rising seas and more intense droughts and storms come true. Bangladesh is a country that stands to be one of the first to suffer from global climate change, and the time to act is now.
Climate change already touches every corner of the world and every aspect of people's lives. As global temperatures increase, its impact will become even more extreme. The impact of climate change worldwide is already causing food and fuel crises. World Bank and IMF have sounded a larger alarm pushing 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty.
In Bangladesh we are seeing rice-crises first hand every day. The long queues on the roadside subsidizing rice sale centers are probably an indication of the coming hunger, when 30 million people will face starvation.
In Bangladesh natural disasters like SIDR, river erosion, drought and flood mass migration of people from the countryside to the cities. Experts say a third of Bangladesh's coastline could be flooded if the sea rises one meter in the next 50 years, creating an additional 20 million Bangladeshi displaced from their homes and farms.
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