Climate change displaced millions of Bangladeshis in 2022: WHO
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – 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 Organization (WHO) said Monday.
Over 7.1 million Bangladeshis were displaced by climate change in 2022, said the WHO, assessing the situation in the country of around 168 million people.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry meanwhile said that climate change was costing the country 1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) every year.
According to estimates, rising sea levels will submerge around 17% of the country’s coastal lands and displace about 20 million people by 2050.
The WHO said that since 1978, the country has also witnessed three major influxes of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals totaling more than one million people, each with unique medical needs and housed in one of the world’s largest and most densely populated camps in Cox’s Bazar.
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.
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