Bangladesh: Climate migrants reach 6 million

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Wednesday that the number of climate migrants in Bangladesh reached 6 million currently.

“Evidences suggest that Bangladesh has already 6 million climate migrants, a number that could [be] more than double by 2050 due to changes in temperature, increased frequency and severity of floods, droughts, heat waves, cyclones and storm surges, sea level rise, and salinity intrusion,” state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency quoted Hasina as saying.

She was addressing the inaugural session of a two-day climate meeting entitled “Dhaka Meeting of the Global Commission on Adaptation” in capital city Dhaka.

Seeking global assistance in addressing adverse impacts of climate change, Hasina added: “We firmly believe that climate change is a global challenge and we have to resort to global solutions.”

Referring to 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, Hasina said Bangladesh has been successful in creating a solid ground for a meaningful cooperation in combating climate change impacts.

“[But] these changes are seriously affecting agriculture, crops, livestock and fisheries and threatening the food security of Bangladesh,” she added.