20 Million at Risk from Bangladesh Floods

New research shows a bleak future for Bangladesh, claiming up to 20 million people are at risk from rising sea levels and monsoon floods.

The research by the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services in Bangladesh predicts that sea water could reach far inland, as many rivers are surrounded by low lying flood plains. As well as displacing those living in these areas, it would make it hard to cultivate such basic foods as rice.

The research comes as the Bangladesh Government appeals for £3 billion in aid over the next five years to combat climate change in the region. The study suggest that a surprisingly small amount of land will be permanently lost to rising sea levels, but perhaps the bigger threat is repeated Bangladesh floods every monsoon season, especially in the south west region.

A senior scientist on the study claims sea water could cause havoc for rice production in Bangladesh’s poorest regions.

“These are very poor people, and vulnerable. For four months they’ll have nowhere to work, So people will migrate to the cities for jobs, because of the uncomfortable situation with sea level rise. We are talking about 20 million people.”

According to Bangladesh monitoring stations, there has been an average of 5mm sea level rise per year for the past 30 years. Nearly half of the rice produced in Bangladesh is so call “monsoon” rice, much of which is grown in the areas most vulnerable to Bangladesh floods.

Bangladesh has been listed as one of the countries vulnerable to “extreme risk” from climate change over the next 100 years.

Here is a video from BBC News on possible solutions to Bangladesh floods, and how the people could adapt to climate change. Britain’s Department for International Development is sponsoring farmers with new ideas such as gardens that float, and cultivating crabs and ducks instead of crops and chickens.

Antarctic Glacier Melt Like “Nothing in the Natural World”

Climate change studies of the Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica have worried scientists after revealing that the ice is now thinning four times faster than it was 10 years ago.

Satellite data shows that the glacier in west Antarctica is now loosing 16 meters of surface ice per year. Worse still, measurements show that the glacier has lowered by as much as 90 meters since 1994, which has serious implications for sea-level rise.

Calculations based on the rate of melting 15 years ago had suggested the glacier would last for 600 years. But the new data based on current levels of climate change points to a lifespan for the vast ice stream of only another 100 years. This will likely have a knock on effect, causing further climate change around the globe.

The ice is melting fastest in the centre of the glacier, which is sparking fears in scientists that the glacier may break up and effect the ice sheet further inland. Professor Andrew Shepherd of Leeds University claims that melted water from the centre alone would increase global sea levels by 3cm.

“But the ice trapped behind it is about 20-30cm of sea level rise and as soon as we destabilise or remove the middle of the glacier we don’t know really know what’s going to happen to the ice behind it. This is unprecedented in this area of Antarctica. We’ve known that it’s been out of balance for some time, but nothing in the natural world is lost at an accelerating exponential rate like this glacier.”

The news comes as research in the Arctic is finding evidence of dramatic climate changes. Researchers on board a Greenpeace vessel have been studying the northwestern part of Greenland.

“The science community has been surprised by how sensitive these large glaciers are to climate warming. First it was the glaciers in south Greenland and now as we move further north in Greenland we find retreat at major glaciers. It’s like removing a cork from a bottle.” Claims Professor Jason Box of the study.

India’s ‘Unsustainable’ Water

NASA research has yielded some worrying information about India’s use of water.

Scientists have found that groundwater levels in northern India have been declining by as much as one foot per year over the past decade. Researchers concluded the loss is almost entirely due to human activity. The findings were published two days after an Indian government report warning of a potential water crisis.

About a quarter of India is experiencing drought conditions, as the monsoon rains have been weaker and later than usual. A welcome change for those usually victims of Bangladesh floods but the lack of water is set to effect more people. However, NASA say more than 26 cubic miles of groundwater disappeared between 2002 and 2008, and that the loss is “almost entirely due to human activity”.

The finding is based on data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), a pair of satellites that sense changes in Earth’s gravity field and associated mass distribution, including water masses stored above or below Earth’s surface.

“Using GRACE satellite observations, we can observe and monitor water storage changes in critical areas of the world, from one month to the next, without leaving our desks” Isabella Velicogna of NASA

Report Warns California to Prepare for Climate Change

As if the threat of massive recession busting budget cuts were not enough, California is now being warned of a more dangerous threat.

Climate change is threatening California, one of America’s biggest polluting States, as hotter weather will cause havoc and threaten low lying areas as sea levels rise, a new report claims. The report warns that rising temperatures over the next few decades will lead to more heatwaves, wildfires, droughts and floods. Over the last century in California, the sea level has risen by 7 inches, average temperatures have increased, spring snow melts earlier in the year, and there are hotter days and fewer cold nights.

Even if a global effort is made to curb carbon emissions, the report claims California needs to start preparing for rising sea levels, hotter weather and other effects of climate change. It encourages local communities to rethink future development in low-lying coastal areas, reinforce levees that protect flood prone areas and conserve already strapped water supplies in the most highly populated US state.

The report was compiled after the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, directed agencies in November to devise a state climate strategy. It comes three years after the Republican governor signed California’s landmark global warming law requiring the state to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Many states are facing similar problems caused by climate change over the coming decades, with water shortages set to be a major issue across the country. Most countries have focused on cutting greenhouse gases in the future, but researchers say those efforts will take decades to have an effect while the planet continues to warm. States have only recently begun to consider what steps they must take to minimise the damage expected from sea level rise, storm surges, droughts and water shortages because of the climate changes.

Kenya’s Flowers Diminish

Kenya’s leading crop export is feeling the heat of a changing climate and a global financial meltdown.

Fresh cut flowers are the flagship export of Kenya, making Billions of Shillings a year for the economy. But a global recession and climate chaos have started to diminish earnings. So far this year earnings from exports have fallen by 35 percent on last year according to the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya.

Most of the exported flowers, over 80 percent, are bought by Europe. Half of those are purchased by flower lovers in the UK. However demand for flowers in the recession has dipped by around 25 percent as the European market has reduced spending on luxury items. An unusually cold winter also kept flower lovers indoors as freezing temperatures swept throughout Europe.

“Statistics from Kenya Flower Council show earnings took a knock from 13.36 billion shillings (191.8 million dollars) in the first three months of the year to 10.76 billion shillings (13.68 million dollars).” According to Google

But credit crunch is not the only problem facing Kenya’s flowers exports. The flower sector is also feeling the heat of Global warming. A prolong dry spell last year caused rising concerns for the future as many farms suffered major water shortages. In some places rainfall was below 30 percent of its normal levels.

Around 1,200 jobs have already been lost so far this year as a result of the decline. There are fears a larger drop in flowers revenue would damage East Africa’s largest economy, as a massive 23 percent of its GDP comes from Horticulture exports.

Global Warming In Australia: A Climate Changing

Droughts and Fires. Severe Heatwaves and Epic Flooding. Not only a picture painted by climate scientists of a future climate changed by global warming, but a current trend worsening in Australia.

The LA Times recently reported that a warming Australian climate could be a “harbinger of change” to the rest of the world. What scientists say we have ahead of us if global warming is not prevented, such as Severe droughts and Fires, are already rife in Australia as climate change warms their already hot environment.

Climate scientists warn that Australia: condemned by prolonged drought and increasingly deadly bush fires in the south, monsoon flooding and mosquito inflicted fevers in the north, declining wildlife population, collapse of agriculture and killer heat waves, epitomizes the “accelerated climate crisis” that global warming models have forecast.

“Australia is the harbinger of change. The problems for us are going to be greater. The cost to Australia from climate change is going to be greater than for any developed country. We are already starting to see it. It’s tearing apart the life support system that gives us this world.” Claims paleontologist Tim Flannery, one of Australia’s most vocal climate spectators.

Many Australians feel they already have a death toll connected directly to climate change. 173 people died in the countries worst ever wildfires in February 2009. A royal commission has been called upon to decide weather global warming contributed to the savage bush fires that destroyed whole towns and a quarter of Victoria’s wildlife. A further 200 people died in a heatwave a week before the fires, that saw 4 days of temperatures at 110 degrees and higher as well as 100mph winds. The heat buckled the steel structure on a new 400 foot Ferris wheel and warped train tracks. On the hottest day, more than 4,000 gray headed flying foxes dropped dead out of trees in a Melbourne park.

“Something is happening in Australia. Global warming is no longer some future event that we don’t have to worry about for decades. What we have seen in the past two weeks moves Australia’s exposure to global warming to emergency status.” Said firefighter Dan Condon of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade in an open letter.

Australia is not an innocent party on global warming. 80% of its electricity still comes from Coal power stations.  Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says climate change is high on his agenda, but many here are disappointed by his pledge to cut overall greenhouse gas emissions by only 5% by 2020. All eyes will be on Australia in the coming years. It may well show a bleak future for the rest of us, unless we act now to prevent further global warming.