Climate Risk Could Displace 13.3 Million People in Bangladesh: ADB

Bangladesh faces extreme vulnerability due to the severe impacts of global climate change. Driven by rising sea levels, acute shortages of drinking water, and agricultural degradation, approximately 13.3 million people in the country could be internally displaced by 2050. This accounts for roughly 7.5 percent of the national population. The alarming projections were highlighted in a recent report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which noted that populations living along low-lying river basins and coastal belts across the Asia-Pacific face the greatest threat.

The report warns that if high greenhouse gas emissions persist, an average of 17.5 million people in Bangladesh could be exposed to annual coastal flooding by the turn of the century. Globally, annual coastal flooding could affect 33 million people by 2050, expanding to nearly 108 million by 2100. In developing nations like Bangladesh and Myanmar, impoverished and marginalized communities bear the primary brunt, entrenching them in cycles of long-term economic hardship and deprivation.

Alongside the dire risks, the ADB acknowledged Bangladesh's positive strides in disaster preparedness. The report commended the country's development of multi-purpose cyclone shelters and early warning systems as effective lifesaving models. However, to withstand mounting future shocks, the development bank urged the rapid execution of localized adaptation measures, conservation of mangrove belts, and substantial scaling up of climate finance.

Without proactive adaptation investments, annual coastal flood damages across the Asia-Pacific region could surge sixfold by 2050. While current regional damages average 27 billion dollars annually, timely capital expenditure of 9 to 19 billion dollars per year in coastal protection could avert up to 360 billion dollars in losses, yielding returns up to twenty times greater than initial costs.