Seeking a New Home

All it takes is one storm. Hurricane-strength winds rip apart buildings. Heavy rain and flooding swallow acre after acre of land. In a matter of hours, tens of thousands of homes are destroyed, along with the land they once stood on.

When the skies clear and the waters retreat, the people of Bangladesh do what they’ve done for generations—they rebuild and adapt. Then they brace for the next catastrophe. After all, their low-lying coastal country in South Asia is a magnet for strong storms like cyclones and other natural disasters. 

But rebuilding and adapting in Bangladesh is getting harder. Climate change—a long-term shift in Earth’s temperature and weather patterns made much more extreme by human activity—is intensifying the country’s normal weather events. Cyclones are becoming more powerful. Floodwaters are surging higher. And heat waves are becoming unbearable.

All it takes is one storm. Hurricane-strength winds rip apart buildings. Heavy rain and flooding swallow acre after acre of land. In a matter of hours, tens of thousands of homes are destroyed. So is the land they once stood on.

Then the skies clear. The waters retreat. And the people of Bangladesh do what they have done for generations: They rebuild and adapt. Then they brace for the next catastrophe. After all, their low-lying coastal country in South Asia is a magnet for strong storms like cyclones and other natural disasters.

But rebuilding and adapting in Bangladesh is getting harder. Climate change is a long-term shift in Earth’s temperature and weather patterns made much more extreme by human activity. It is intensifying the country’s normal weather events. Cyclones are becoming more powerful. Floodwaters are surging higher. And heat waves are becoming unbearable.

Those and other climate change-related effects are projected to drive nearly 20 million people from their homes in Bangladesh in the coming decades, according to the World Bank, an international bank that funds development in low- and middle-income countries. That means roughly one out of every eight people there will become a climate migrant, someone who is forced to move because of changes in the local environment. (Climate migrants tend to stay within their own countries.)

Saleemul Huq, one of Bangladesh’s top climate change scientists, wants to make sure climate migrants in his country will have somewhere to go. He is leading a project to transform 20 towns across Bangladesh into safe, welcoming destinations that can each take in hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The World Bank, an international bank that funds development in low- and middle-income countries. It estimates that such climate change-related effects will drive nearly 20 million people from their homes in Bangladesh in the coming decades. This means that roughly one out of every eight people there will become a climate migrant, someone who is forced to move because of changes in the local environment. (Climate migrants tend to stay within their own countries.)

Saleemul Huq is one of Bangladesh’s top climate change scientists. He wants to make sure climate migrants in his country will have somewhere to go. So he is leading a project to transform 20 towns across Bangladesh into safe, welcoming destinations that can each take in hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The goal is for the towns to offer a fresh start for climate migrants, with employment, housing, and other necessities—and hope for the future, says Huq, who runs the International Center for Climate Change and Development at Independent University, Bangladesh. “We are trying to get . . . job opportunities for [displaced families], school opportunities for their kids, and over time to enable them to become citizens of these towns,” he explains. 

The goal is for the towns to offer a fresh start for climate migrants. They would provide necessities like employment and housing—and hope for the future, says Huq. He runs the International Center for Climate Change and Development at Independent University, Bangladesh. “We are trying to get . . . job opportunities for [displaced families], school opportunities for their kids, and over time to enable them to become citizens of these towns,” he explains.

The effects of climate change are being felt around the world. In the United States, the shift has been linked to intense wildfires, droughts, and hurricanes, for example. 

But Bangladesh is more at risk from climate change than almost every other nation in the world, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which measures countries’ exposure and vulnerability to extreme weather events.  

Roughly a quarter of Bangladesh sits less than 7 feet above sea level. And as climate change warms the world’s oceans and causes ice at the North and South poles to melt, sea levels around the globe are rising. Within three decades, scientists warn, nearly one-fifth of Bangladesh may disappear under the ocean.

In addition, more than 200 rivers crisscross the country. Many of them regularly overflow during the rainy season, which climate change has made longer. The surging waters can rip away entire stretches of riverbank, along with the homes built on them.

Flooding during cyclones and the rainy season also contaminates the country’s soil and fresh water with salt from the Bay of Bengal. That makes it hard for families to find safe drinking water or to grow rice, one of the country’s main crops.

Paritosh Chandra Mandal, 45, a Bangladesh resident, lost his home and much of his land during a cyclone two years ago. “At one time I had everything,” he says. Now he and his family live in a shack and struggle to find food. “I used to make a living by [farming] my own land. But now there is nothing,” Mandal told reporters. “How many times can we build a house in one life?”

The effects of climate change are being felt around the world. In the United States, the shift has been linked to intense wildfires, droughts, and hurricanes, for example.

But Bangladesh is more at risk from climate change than almost every other nation in the world. That is according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which measures countries’ exposure and vulnerability to extreme weather events.

Roughly a quarter of Bangladesh sits less than 7 feet above sea level. Climate change is warming the world’s oceans and causing ice at the North and South poles to melt. So sea levels around the globe are rising. Scientists warn that within three decades, nearly one-fifth of Bangladesh may disappear under the ocean.

In addition, more than 200 rivers crisscross the country. Many of them regularly overflow during the rainy season. Climate change has made that season longer. The surging waters can rip away entire stretches of riverbank, along with the homes built on them.

Flooding during cyclones and the rainy season also contaminates the country’s soil and fresh water with salt from the Bay of Bengal. That makes it hard for families to find safe drinking water or to grow rice, one of the country’s main crops.

Paritosh Chandra Mandal, 45, is a Bangladesh resident. He lost his home and much of his land during a cyclone two years ago. “At one time I had everything,” he says. Now he and his family live in a shack. They struggle to find food. “I used to make a living by [farming] my own land. But now there is nothing,” Mandal told reporters. “How many times can we build a house in one life?”

For families like Mandal’s, relocating can end up being the only option. In Bangladesh, most climate migrants head to Dhaka, the capital, in hopes of finding work. But moving there often means trading one set of struggles for another. 

With nearly 22 million residents packed into just 118 square miles, Dhaka is one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Its infrastructure, including water and electric systems, cannot support the daily influx of climate migrants who have already started to arrive, Huq says. More than a third of Dhaka’s population lives in crowded, makeshift housing areas with unreliable access to fresh water, food, sanitation services, and medical care. 

That’s why creating alternative destinations is so important, Huq says. He and his team are focusing on transforming existing towns that have room to expand into safe havens. The locations each have a few hundred thousand residents, with the potential to take in up to half a million more. 

Most of the towns are close to industrial zones or ports that can support large workforces. Access to jobs is key, Huq says. “That is definitely the number one carrot to attract migrants to go to a particular town, as opposed to coming to Dhaka,” he says. 

Preparing for so many future residents takes planning, however. The towns need infrastructure upgrades, such as adding more roads and schools. They also need to be made climate resilient so that new residents don’t end up suffering from the same hazards they were trying to escape. That could mean adding more flood protections or better access to safe drinking water, for example. Funding for the changes has come from various sources, including the government and nearby countries.

For families like Mandal’s, relocating can end up being the only option. In Bangladesh, most climate migrants head to Dhaka, the capital. They go in hopes of finding work. But moving there often means trading one set of struggles for another.

Dhaka is one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Nearly 22 million residents are packed into just 118 square miles. The city’s infrastructure, including water and electric systems, cannot support the daily inflow of climate migrants who have already started to arrive, Huq says. More than a third of Dhaka’s population lives in crowded, makeshift housing areas. They have unreliable access to fresh water, food, sanitation services, and medical care.

That is why creating alternative destinations is so important, Huq says. He and his team are focusing on transforming existing towns that have room to expand into safe havens. The locations each have a few hundred thousand residents. And they have the potential to take in up to half a million more.

Most of the towns are close to industrial zones or ports that can support large workforces. Access to jobs is key, Huq says. “That is definitely the number one carrot to attract migrants to go to a particular town, as opposed to coming to Dhaka,” he says.

But preparing for so many future residents takes planning. The towns need infrastructure upgrades, such as adding more roads and schools. They also need to be made climate resilient. That is so new residents do not end up suffering from the same hazards they were trying to escape. That could mean adding more flood protections or better access to safe drinking water, for example. Funding for the changes has come from various sources, including the government and nearby countries.

Huq hopes to have all 20 towns ready within the next 10 years. Mongla, a port town in southwestern Bangladesh, is the closest to being finished. The area used to flood twice a day and consistently lose residents to better job opportunities elsewhere. But over the past decade, Mongla officials installed flood prevention measures, including a 7-mile-long raised barrier. They also added flood control gates to block salt water from coming into the river at high tide. 

With help from the national government, local officials also invested in new housing, security measures, elevated streets, and a system to treat and distribute fresh water. The upgrades have already attracted new people and businesses. The town’s population has nearly tripled over the past 10 years, to about 110,000 people today, and is still growing. 

Huq hopes to have all 20 towns ready within the next 10 years. Mongla is a port town in southwestern Bangladesh. It is the closest to being finished. The area used to flood twice a day and regularly lose residents to better job opportunities elsewhere. But over the past decade, Mongla officials installed flood prevention measures, including a 7-mile-long raised barrier. They also added flood control gates to block salt water from coming into the river at high tide.

Local officials also invested in new housing, security measures, elevated streets, and a system to treat and distribute fresh water. They got help from the national government. The upgrades have already attracted new people and businesses. The town’s population has nearly tripled over the past 10 years, to about 110,000 people today. And it is still growing.

There has also been a jump in investments in Mongla’s industrial area and seaport, creating thousands more jobs there. And a bridge set to open this year will make traveling between Mongla and Dhaka easier. That will help the town attract even more businesses and jobs, experts say.   

There is still work to be done, including providing fresh water to more of the town’s residents. Right now, only about half have access to city drinking water. But Mongla’s transformation so far is promising, says Laura Kuhl, an assistant professor at Northeastern University in Massachusetts who specializes in climate adaptation. “This inflow of migrants is enabling Mongla to become a much more vibrant city than it ever was before,” she says.

There has also been a jump in investments in Mongla’s industrial area and seaport, creating thousands more jobs there. And a bridge is set to open this year. It will make traveling between Mongla and Dhaka easier. That will help the town attract even more businesses and jobs, experts say.

There is still work to be done, such as providing fresh water to more of the town’s residents. Right now, only about half have access to city drinking water. But Mongla’s transformation so far is promising, says Laura Kuhl. She is an assistant professor at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. Kuhl specializes in climate adaptation. “This inflow of migrants is enabling Mongla to become a much more vibrant city than it ever was before,” she says.

Meanwhile, Mongla and the other safe-haven cities have the potential to help more than just climate migrants in Bangladesh, experts say. The lessons the nation learns through the process of building such places may help guide other countries too. 

After all, the issues Bangladesh faces now will become more common globally in the coming decades. Within 30 years, climate change is expected to displace hundreds of millions of people around the world (see “Forced to Move,” above). 

By planning for climate migration, nations can make the transition easier and safer, Kuhl says. “These transformations are going to happen whether they’re planned or not. Leaders need to be creating a vision for what [safe-haven] cities look like.”

Sharing ideas on how to do that is crucial, Huq explains, because this problem is not something a single country can solve on its own. Climate change affects everyone. “It’s not just you in the United States. It’s us in Bangladesh and others around the world,” he says. “We are all in this together.” 

Meanwhile, Mongla and the other safe-haven cities have the potential to help more than just climate migrants in Bangladesh, experts say. The lessons the nation learns through the process of building such places may help guide other countries too.

After all, the issues Bangladesh faces now will become more common globally in the coming decades. Within 30 years, climate change is expected to displace hundreds of millions of people around the world (see “Forced to Move,” p. 10).

By planning for climate migration, nations can make the transition easier and safer, Kuhl says. “These transformations are going to happen whether they’re planned or not. Leaders need to be creating a vision for what [safe-haven] cities look like.”

Sharing ideas on how to do that is crucial, Huq explains. That is because this problem is not something a single country can solve on its own. Climate change affects everyone. “It’s not just you in the United States. It’s us in Bangladesh and others around the world,” he says. “We are all in this together.”