Heat alarms and other ails: How climate change hammers Bangladesh and beyond
Looking at how Bangladesh, the Global South and beyond are already teetering from climate change-induced effects
Several extreme weather events have already impacted different parts of the world in the first five months of this year. Currently, Brazil is reeling from flash floods and torrential rain, essentially a deluge which experts believe is linked to climate change.
As of this writing, the death toll stands at 126, displacing more than 400,000 people thus far.
Last month, on 16 April, the UAE experienced unprecedented rainfall which flooded highways and disrupted flights in Dubai, one of the world's busiest international airports. It resulted in three deaths. Its neighbour, Oman, experienced flash floods, killing 20 people.
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Record-breaking floods in China's Guangdong killed four and displaced more than 110,000 in April, according to South China Morning Post. The province was later struck by a tornado, killing five.
A warmer planet, worse disease outbreaks, disappearing shorelines coupled with an exhausted healthcare system and overcrowded urban cities — do not inspire hope.
More recently, in Kenya, as of 9 May, 257 people had been killed and 293,000 others displaced in 31 out of Kenya's 47 counties due to the latest floods, according to an NPR report.
Back in Bangladesh, although we are experiencing a respite from rain over around one week, you may recall a record-breaking heatwave starting in late April, causing havoc across the country. This was part of the wider extreme weather event in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
For the second consecutive year, Bangladesh closed schools due to extreme heatwave. According to the DGHS (Directorate General of Health Services), at least 15 people died from heatstroke till 6 May.
Extreme weather events are a climate change phenomenon. For many regions, especially the Global South, populations are heading towards climate change-induced-uninhabitable lives, or they are already living the ails.
While the effects of climate change are broad, these three in particular — rise in temperature, disease outbreak and displacement — are caused by climate change and takes a toll on the people.
43.8 degrees Celcius
The latest searing heat wave which swept across the country is a stark reminder of the dangers of climate change. "This is the first time the country has experienced a heatwave [referring to April] running for 26 days straight since 1948 when Bangladesh began to record heatwaves," meteorologist Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik told The Business Standard earlier.
If we are to look at the data from the last 10 years, it becomes clear that there is a gradual increase in temperature in the country. While the temperature hovered around mid-to-late 30 degrees Celcius, last year saw the temperature reaching 41 degrees Celcius during a severe heatwave in early June.
On 30 April, the year's highest temperature of 43.8 degrees Celsius was – thus far – recorded in the southwestern district of Jashore.
This not only increases the risk of heat-related illnesses (such as heat strokes and dehydration straining our medical facilities) but also severely taxes our agricultural systems and the livelihoods they sustain.
This means crop failures, a lack of water, and lower agricultural yields, which are major threats to food security and increase the likelihood of poverty and hunger in rural areas. In late April, stories on how the extreme heatwave disrupted the economy came to the fore.
According to an earlier TBS report, in 2023, a group of authors from the University of Rajshahi and BSMMU (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University) detailed how the heatwave-induced public disarrays work as a 'Nexus.'
Published in Elsevier's journal Environmental Challenges, the authors pointed out how heatwaves, the food economy and public health are all interconnected — this takes us to the 2023 dengue outbreak.
Warmer planet, worse disease outbreaks
Bangladesh has had a long relentless history of dengue outbreaks. It has become an annual phenomenon.
However, last year saw an unprecedented outbreak which lasted for several months longer than the general annual timeline and claimed a record-breaking 1,643 lives as of December 2023.
There is reason and rhyme to realise wider and worse dengue outbreaks with the temperature rise. According to a The Economist report "A mosquito-borne disease is spreading as the planet warms" in April 2024, "Modelling suggests that, on current trends of climate change, Aedes [dengue virus is spread among people through bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes] will spread into large parts of southern Europe and the United States, putting another 2bn people at risk of getting dengue."
South America, subtropical Africa, India and Bangladesh are seeing an exponential increase, and "urbanisation does not help." The Economist report also points out, "In 2000 about 20,000 people died of it, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). This year at least 40,000 will perish."
In an earlier TBS report, public health expert Dr Be-Nazir said, "I look at it like this, Aedes mosquitoes thrive at a junction between temperature, humidity, and rainfall --- but no one variable can be used to forecast a dengue outbreak" – meaning lesser rainfall might not give us much relief, while the other two factors (temperature and humidity), coupled with a failing health management system persist.
Dr Be-Nazir added that there had been some curious observations across the world in terms of dengue outbreaks in 2023 – such as new regions being affected and common suspects having seen greater outbreaks.
In BBC's "Fevered Planet: How a shifting climate is catalysing infectious disease," an expert argues that "climate change will soon be fuelling pandemics and we can expect a succession of unpredictable human, animal and plant disease outbreaks." Additionally, another expert emphasised "Climate change does not produce disease itself; rather, it is a "multiplier", increasing and speeding up the threat of diseases emerging."
BBC's John Vidal explained how the warming climate in Alaska causes a change in its ecosystem which in turn affects the microorganisms, "which has knock-off effects on fish and bird populations."
It is all interconnected, the planet, animals and people — and this is one of the recurring themes of nearly all climate activists and scientists who work on the effects of climate change.
Cholera outbreak is another disease influenced by the warming of the planet. Late last year, Zambia's case is an example causing over 250 deaths.
Where to go?
Communities along rivers and coasts in Bangladesh, in particular, are forced to live on the front lines as the force of extreme weather events and advancing floods threaten their homes and means of subsistence.
The displacement of these refugees due to climate change makes poverty and hunger worse and puts the weakest members of our society at risk of abuse and exploitation.
By 2050, 19 million people in Bangladesh are predicted to be displaced due to climate change, according to a new documentary by Al Jazeera titled "Life before land: Bangladesh's disappearing shorelines."
Highlighting the plight of these individuals, who are not officially recognised as climate migrants or refugees, the story shows how internally displaced families end up in the capital's ever-growing slums. It amplifies the emotional toll of leaving one's home and the acute desire to stay near their community.
Meanwhile, The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 7.1 million people were displaced in 2022 alone by climate change and projections suggest this number could reach 13.3 million by 2050 according to ILO Climate Change and Human Mobility in Bangladesh.
Moreover, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) predicts that by 2050, there could be anywhere from 44 million to 216 million climate migrants.
While there has been progress in tackling climate change (for instance in the Al Jazeera documentary, the late climate scientist Saleemul Huq praises Bangladesh's cyclone warning system), the country stands at the forefront of climate change.
A warmer planet, worse disease outbreaks, disappearing shorelines coupled with an exhausted healthcare system and overcrowded urban cities — do not inspire hope. There is also the threat of a looming water crisis. While we live through the exacerbated effects of climate change in real-time, the only way forward remains with climate scientists and policymakers; and their collaborative work.
