How are you, Bangladesh?

Population-dense with a fast-growing economy, this country is recognized for being both vulnerable to and victorious against the onslaughts of climate change.

Aerial view of the Buriganga River in Dhaka

The villages of the low-lying areas in Sylhet have been flooded due to the overflowing of dams by heavy rains.

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2.1% of the world’s population live either cramped or sparsed in this riverine country with crisscrossing drainage systems. Bangladesh is prone to various climate risks like rainfall variability, increasing temperatures, sea-level rise, seasonal droughts, and severe floods.

The number of people exposed to extreme river floods in Bangladesh is expected to grow by 6–12 million by the 2040s, and the number of people facing coastal inundation could grow by 2–7 million by 2070s with adaptation measures.

What do the experts say?

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, 2021– in terms of fatalities and mortalities, Bangladesh ranks amongst the top 10 most affected countries in long-term climate risks from 2000 to 2019.

Recurrent floods affect millions of people every year. Fatalities of nearly 30,000 were caused by the cyclone in 1970 along with a loss and damage of US$ 2.5 billion. In Bangladesh, climate risks can cause an additional US $ 3 billion loss or 1-2% loss in GDP on top of its baseline losses to climate hazards.

Owing to high population density, urbanization, and industrialization carbon emissions are increasing. Globally, Bangladesh accounts for only 0.24 % of CO2 emissions (kt) and 0.5 metric ton emissions per capita emissions. Mostly huge carbon emissions result from agriculture, energy, power, and transport industry.

Bangladesh is committed to fulfilling the NDC objectives of reducing carbon emissions by undertaking adaptation and mitigation actions. The Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, the world’s first climate prosperity plan launched by Bangladesh, seeks to enhance resilience and economic growth using climate change actions as its catalyst.

Is this information sufficient?

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What do you need to know about Bangladesh?

Bypass all the climate clutter and avoid tedious, lengthy web searches by taking note of the following short and important climate change figures for Bangladesh: