After a cyclone destroyed his house in 2007, Bangladeshi fisherman Abdul Aziz packed up what was left of his belongings and moved to an area about half a kilometer inland, away from the storm waves… A year later, the sea swallowed the area where his house was built.
Today, Abdulaziz, 75, fishes in an area above his former house that was submerged in water, and lives on the other side of a low-lying dirt area and a concrete bridge over which the roaring waves crash.
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Fisherman Abdul Aziz looks at his former village that was swallowed by the sea
“The fish swim there in the waters of my land,” he says, pointing to his vanishing village. He added, “This is part of the consequences of rising sea water.”
Government-authorized scientists in Bangladesh say that rising sea levels due to climate change are submerging Bangladesh’s densely populated coast at a rate that is among the fastest in the world, which will force at least a million people on the coast to move to other areas within a generation.
“Few countries are experiencing the far-reaching and diverse impacts of climate change as intensely as Bangladesh,” Environment Department Director-General Abdul Hamid wrote in a report last month.
The three-part study concluded that the South Asian country is seeing sea levels rise in some places 60 percent higher than the global average.
The report stated that by 2050, with current rates of local sea level rise, “more than a million people may be forced to be displaced,” based on data taken over a quarter of a century by satellites from the US space agency NASA and its Chinese counterpart (NASA). CNSA).
– The water is “approaching”
Sea levels are not rising at the same rate around the world, mainly due to Earth’s uneven gravitational field and changes in ocean dynamics.
Study leader AKM Saiful Islam said that the high rates of sea water rise in Bangladesh were driven by the melting of ice caps, increasing amounts of water with rising ocean temperatures and the huge amounts of river water that flows into the Bay of Bengal every monsoon period.
He added that the study provides a “clear message” that policymakers must be prepared to “adapt” to the situation.
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Expert Saif Al-Islam
Saif al-Islam, a member of the Climate Change Assessment Panel of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, examined the vast delta areas where the mighty Himalayan rivers of the Ganges and Brahmaputra reach the sea.
Saif Al-Islam explained, “In recent decades, sea level has risen by 3.7 millimeters every year globally.”
He pointed out, “In our study, we saw that sea level rise is higher along our coasts… from 4.2 millimeters to 5.8 millimeters annually.”
This gradual rise may seem small. But some of those residing along the coast of Bangladesh, whose total number is approximately 20 million people, say that the destruction is devastating their areas in terrifying waves.
Fisherman Abdul Aziz said about the sea approaching their lands that the waters are “approaching,” “So where can we escape?”
– “Bodies cannot bear it.”
The threat appears to be getting worse. Most of the country’s coastal areas are one or two meters above sea level, and storms carry seawater inland, making wells and lakes salty and destroying crops in what was previously fertile land.
“When the tide is higher, seawater infiltrates our homes and lands,” said Ismail Huldar, a 65-year-old farmer who grows chili peppers, sweet potatoes, sunflowers and rice.
He added, “This brings us nothing but loss.”
Scientists say hurricanes are becoming more frequent and increasing in intensity and duration due to the impact of climate change.
Shah Jalal Mia, a 63-year-old restaurant owner, said he sees the sea “expanding over more land” every year.
“Many people have lost their homes to the sea already,” he explained.
Shah Jalal Mia pointed out that he witnessed hurricanes and heat waves getting worse, with temperatures rising to more than 40 degrees Celsius.
“We now face two, three, or even four hurricanes every year,” he noted. “I cannot measure temperatures in degrees, but simply put, our bodies cannot handle that.”
Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.
In April, the country, with a population of about 170 million people, experienced the hottest month and the most sustained heat wave in its history.
The government meteorological department said that the hurricane, which last month killed at least 17 people and destroyed 35,000 homes, was one of the fastest-forming and longest-lasting hurricanes.
Both events were attributed to rising global temperatures.
“We cannot do anything for Bangladesh if other countries do not do anything to combat emissions,” said Inon Nishat, from Brac University in the capital, Dhaka.
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