Consequences of global warming and sea level rise in Bangladesh

Abstract

In the present article, problems associated with global warming and sea level rise in Bangladesh due to the greenhouse effect are discussed on the basis of predictions made by some climate models and analysis of long‐term records of temperature and rainfall at a few stations in Bangladesh. A comparative analysis of the IPCC report and some model results indicate various climatic changes and sea level rise in the future environment of this region due to greenhouse warming. The change of climatic parameters such as temperature, rainfall, and associated problems such as enhanced surface warming, floods, sea level rise, etc., has direct adverse effects on the socio‐economy of Bangladesh. In view of the above, the monthly mean maximum and minimum temperatures for the months of May and December covering a period of 32 years (1961–1992) at eight uniformly distributed stations in Bangladesh have been processed and analyzed to investigate the long‐term temporal behaviors. Seven‐year moving averages of the monthly data have been calculated in order to investigate any trend of temperature during the study period. Annual rainfall data have also been used to see the temporal and spatial variability of rainfall in the country. Seven‐year moving averages have been computed to identify long‐term increasing or decreasing trend of annual rainfall. The long‐term trend of temperature in the region surrounding Bangladesh is also discussed based on investigations made by some Indian researchers. Some model results of climate predictions for this region are included in the discussion. Finally, our views on the subject based on the above results are given.