The Crime Desk: Due to the impact of climate change, Bangladesh is facing an unusually adverse weather cycle compared to the rest of the world. Day by day, the atmosphere is getting super hot due to extreme heat and humidity. At the beginning of June, the average temperature in the country was not as high as it should have been. It has created the highest temperature record in 50 years.
According to the Meteorological Office, the average temperature in Bangladesh has exceeded the highest record in the last 50 years. The average temperature at this time of year is between 32 and 34 degrees Celsius, but now it is between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius. Due to the low pressure in the sea, relief rain fell in various districts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, in the last two days, but the heat wave did not go away.
Khaleej Times and Gulf News, an influential media outlet based in the Middle East, reported that the temperature in Dhaka, the capital of the South Asian country, is around 40 degrees Celsius. Poor people suffer the most.
Bajlur Rashid, a senior official of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, said that since Bangladesh became independent in 1971, we have not seen such a long heatwave. The government has closed all primary schools to deal with the situation.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has warned that the heat is not decreasing soon. Climate change is contributing to more frequent, intense, and longer heat waves in the country during the summer months, scientists say. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, many people are resorting to medical treatment after being sick due to the intense heat.
Shafiqul Islam, a doctor in the north-western region of the country, said, “Now we are getting many patients, most of whom are suffering from heat stroke.” Besides, there are other problems related to temperature. Meanwhile, Agence France Presse and British media, BBC, reported in separate reports that American scientists have confirmed the return of the terrible El Nino. El Nio has begun to take effect.
Experts say 2024 could be the hottest year on earth due to extreme weather conditions. Scientists fear that El Nino could exceed the target of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to a BBC report, the effects of El Nino will be felt in every part of the world. It is believed that, as a result, there will be a drought in Australia, the rainfall will increase in the southern part of the United States, and the monsoon in these regions, including India and Bangladesh, will be weakened and the rainfall will decrease a lot. For the past few months, researchers have been realizing that an El Nino is about to emerge in the Pacific Ocean.
UK meteorologist Adam Scaife said it is now increasing. Our observations for several months suggest that this El Nio will intensify towards the end of this year. According to Scaife, the year 2024 is likely to set a new record for global temperatures due to the ongoing El Nio. Extreme weather in the world is mainly divided into three stages. Hot, cold, or neutral. A warm phase called El Nio occurs every two to seven years and sees warm water off the coast of South America spread across the sea surface and push significant amounts of heat into the atmosphere. Generally, the year after El Nio begins, the following year experiences intense heat. The previous El Nio in 2015 saw world record-breaking temperatures in 2016. At that time, due to the increase in temperature, there were frequent thunderstorms in Bangladesh. As a result, the government issued a warning.
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists said, on average, after 2 to 7 years, El Nio conditions occur. Weather organizations use different criteria to determine when El Nino will begin. According to the standards of US scientists, the sea temperature will be 10.5 degrees Celsius warmer than normal for at least one month before the start of El Nino. This heat reaction can also be seen in the atmosphere. Among them, all the conditions before the start of El Nio were seen to be met in May.
In this situation, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement that El Nino conditions prevail. Researchers believe the ongoing El Nio has an 84 percent chance of exceeding moderate strength by the end of this year. They say that the temperature increase may exceed 2 degrees Celsius this time in the form of a Super El Nino. The Spanish word ‘El Nio” means ‘little boy’. When sea surface temperatures are warmer than normal in the eastern and central Pacific Oceans, it is called El Nio. And its opposite is called ‘La Nina’, which means ‘Little Girl’ or ‘Little Girl’. When sea surface temperatures are below normal in the eastern and central Pacific Oceans, it is called La Nia. NOAA climatologist Michelle El Huru said, depending on how strong El Nino is, there can be different effects on the environment. For example, the risk of heavy rain or drought increases in certain areas around the world. World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Peter Talas said in a press release that human-caused climate change with El Nio will cause global temperatures to reach levels we are not familiar with. However, global temperatures may not increase by 1.5 percent. But this fear has increased more than before.
Between 2017 and 2021, scientists said there is only a 10 percent chance of a temperature increase. That has now increased to 66 percent. The World Meteorological Organization makes long-term weather forecasts based mainly on assumptions.
The agency said that any one of the next five years will be the warmest in Earth’s history, breaking the record set in 2016. That year, the global temperature was 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than normal. Scientists said that the warming of the sea water and the increase in temperature in the coastal areas due to unknown reasons are the effects of the strange weather conditions of El Nino. The turbulent waves of the sea and the blue currents are not cool, but this water of the sea is boiling. This strange state of nature is called ‘El Nio.” In the 16th century, a group of fishermen on the west coast of South America first noticed this warm sea water. Since then, El Nio has often returned to Earth like a nightmare.
