People ride rickshaws and motorcycle on a flooded street, amid continuous rain before the Cyclone Sitrang hits the country in Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 24, 2022. REUTERSPIX: Millions of people in Bangladesh lost their homes and livelihoods this year due to the effects of climate change, which is causing an unstoppable internal migration, the World Health Organisation said Monday.
According to estimates, rising sea levels will submerge around 17 per cent of the country’s coastal lands and displace about 20 million people by 2050. Bangladesh ranked as the seventh-riskiest nation in the Global Climate Risk Index 2020, it added. The WHO is organising the event to support countries and territories in building professional competence and capacity to adequately address refugee and migrant health issues.Shafi Mohammad Tareq, a climate expert at Jahangirnagar University, said the shifting of settlements happens when basic needs like water, food supply and work opportunities get disrupted or destroyed.
According to the Bangladesh River and Delta Research Centre, there were a total of 1,274 rivers in Bangladesh in 1971, when the country gained independence. Since then, 507 have vanished.