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Climate

Children take the lead in cyclone early warnings

As Cyclone Roanu approached the coast of Bangladesh last May, 10-year-old Mohammad Hossain worried about his father, a fisherman out at sea in the Bay of Bengal. But the schoolboy, who lives in the Kutubdia Para neighbourhood of Cox's Bazar, a town on the southeast coast of Bangladesh, knew what to do. He sent his father, Ramzan Ali, a text message, asking him to return to shore and take shelter. Fortunately, Ali was close enough to the coast to receive the message. He forwarded it to climatefishermen on other boats, an...

BD demonstrates coping with climate change

If global warming carries on without action Bangladesh could disappear with one third of the country already less than 3 metres above sea level as cyclones and flooding will become more devastating. But Bangladeshis refuse to be helpless victims. At home they are raising the land to match sea level rise and already saving thousands of lives with improved cyclone defences. And this week in Marrakech, Morocco, they will be taking a leading role in the CoP 22 climate change negotiations – trying to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees to halt sea level rise, and pushing for compensation for the damage already done by industrial country emissions.

Lightning strikes a disaster as deaths surge

Bangladesh has seen a near-record number of deaths this year from a phenomenon that appears to be worsening with climate change: lightning strikes. So far this year, 261 people have died from lightning in the country, putting the South Asian nation on track to beat last year’s 265 deaths. Most lightning deaths usually occur during the warm months of March to July. India has seen a similar surge in lightning deaths, with 93 people killed just in the past two days, officials said. The problem has prompted Bangladesh’s government to add lightning strikes to the country’s [caption id="attachment_23889" align="alignleft" width="540"]

Climate displacing coastal residents: Kholiquzzaman

Bangladesh is vulnerable to climate change and many people are getting displaced because of it in the coastal areas, says noted economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, who was Bangladesh’s lead negotiator in the Paris climate conference. In an interview to IANS, Ahmad also said that even though Bangladesh hardly contributed to climate change, this riverine South Asian nation is reeling under the impact of change in rainfall pattern, rise in sea level and resultant salinity in water. “It is known that Bangladesh has not contributed to the climate change at all. But climate change is posing a massive threat to our country, more than those nations that had a major

Sea-level rise claims five islands in Solomons

Five islands have disappeared in the Pacific’s Solomon Islands due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, according to an Australian study that scientists said Saturday could provide valuable insights for future research. A further six reef islands have been severely eroded in the remote area of the Solomons, the study said, with one experiencing some 10 houses being swept into the sea between 2011 and 2014. “At least 11 islands across the northern Solomon Islands have either totally disappeared over climate_change

View from Bangladesh: What next for the UN climate talks?

The 2015 Paris Agreement has set in train global actions by all countries to reduce emission of greenhouse gases and prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change. The next milestone will be on April 22 in New York where the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon has invited heads of government to come together to formally sign the Paris Agreement. In order for Bangladesh to be able to join that meeting, we will need to have adopted the Paris Agreement domestically. After that, COP22 to be held at the end of 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco, will be the next stop in the global policymaking process; it will need to develop momentum for implementation of the Paris Agreement.
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