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Climate variability and changes in the major cities of Bangladesh: observations, possible impacts and adaptation

Shahid, S. and Wang, X. J. and Harun, S. B. and Shamsudin, S. B. and Ismail, T. and Minhans, A. (2016) Climate variability and changes in the major cities of Bangladesh: observations, possible impacts and adaptation. Regional Environmental Change, 16 (2). pp. 459-471. ISSN 1436-3798

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Abstract

High population density, inadequate infrastructure and low adaptive capacity have made the urban population of Bangladesh highly vulnerable to climate change. Trends in climate and climate-related extreme events in five major cities have been analyzed in this paper to decipher the variability and ongoing changes in urban Bangladesh. An analysis of 55 years (1958–2012) of daily rainfall and temperature data using nonparametric statistical methods shows a significant increase in annual and seasonal mean daily maximum and minimum temperatures in all five cities. A significant increase in climate-related extreme events, such as heavy rainfall events (>20 mm), hot days (>32 °C) and hot nights (>25 °C), is also observed. Climate model results suggest that these trends will continue through the twenty-first century. Vulnerability of urban livelihoods and physical structures to climate change is estimated by considering certainty and timing of impacts. It has been predicted that public health and urban infrastructures, viz. water and power supply, would be the imminent affected sectors in the urban areas of Bangladesh. Adaptation measures that can be adopted to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change are also discussed.

Item Type:Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:Bangladesh, Climate change
Subjects:T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Divisions:Civil Engineering
ID Code:71643
Deposited By: Widya Wahid
Deposited On:16 Nov 2017 06:21
Last Modified:16 Nov 2017 06:21

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