Urban Area

One of the main issues encountered in urban areas over the last few years, is the increase in extreme temperatures, especially during the summer and winter seasons. As urban areas are very congested, higher temperatures during summer increases the incidence of diseases like dysentery, diarrhea and heat stroke. In addition to high temperatures, high air pollution in cities increases heat stress and health issues in urban populations.

Urban areas in Bangladesh are also highly vulnerable to an increase in natural disaster occurrences such as cyclones, storm surges, and floods, which are projected to increase with climate change. Most of the coastal towns and cities are situated on riverbanks of the low-lying tidal zones of Bangladesh, at an average elevation of 1.0–1.5m above sea level, increasing their vulnerability to multiple threats such as cyclones, storm surges, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and above all, climate change. (Rahman and Rahman 2014). Bangladesh‘s cities are still very sensitive to such hazards, especially because of the huge and rapid development of urban areas, which remain poor and lacking in sufficient infrastructure to cope with extreme events.