Declare heatwave as a disaster

Heatwave should be considered another disaster, said speakers at an event.

"In terms of productivity, health impact, and considering all other aspects of heatwaves, we have to consider it another disaster," Asif Saleh, executive director at BRAC, remarked while addressing a seminar titled "Heatwave in Bangladesh" on Thursday.

BRAC organised the seminar at a city hotel in the capital's Gulshan.

While delivering the closing remarks, Asif Saleh said the country should not consider climate change as a separate issue either.

"All our planning, be it construction or urban issues, must incorporate climate change considerations. The policies we initiate only work when properly implemented and monitored," he said.

He also advocated for structural planning in the greater interest of the environment and climate change.

Farhina Ahmed, secretary to the environment ministry, said research clearly shows heatwaves are affecting livelihoods, the atmosphere, the ecosystem, and everything in between.

She said the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) could not address the unprecedented heatwaves as it was formulated back in 2022.

"However, in the NAP, we have given high priority to scientific research, innovation, and capacity building on climate change issues to make informed decisions and included these heat issues as one of the key eight sectors," she said.

According to scientific research, the NAP had indications and predictions for heatwaves, she said, adding that provisions are in place to address heat issues.

"There are also interventions to tackle disease outbreaks for city dwellers… But we can feel that this is not enough. We have to do more," she said.

She mentioned that to address health issues regarding heatwaves, the government is now working to formulate a Health National Adaptation Plan (HNAP) where specific health actions will be outlined to address climate change and heatwaves.

As per the presentation shown in the seminar, it was said that a loss of around 4.9 percent of GDP can happen by 2030 due to productivity loss in labour forces because of heatwaves.

Prof AKM Saiful Islam of the Institute of Water and Flood Management at Buet said the government is identifying the heat zones and the root causes to combat heat waves.

He called for long and short-term plans to fight against the heatwaves and even more research collaborations.

Bushra Afreen, chief heat officer at Dhaka North City Corporation, said Dhaka was never built with heat resilience, rather it prioritises economic development over everything else.

She also stressed good governance and increased capacity.

To minimise the losses in the agricultural sector due to heatwaves, Shameem Hassan Bhuiyan, deputy director at Bangladesh Meteorological Department, said they have developed some agro-meteorological advisory services.

"This is the blending of agricultural information and meteorological forecast," he said, adding that they are trying to disseminate information to the farmers.

Tapas Ranjan Chakraborty, senior programme manager at the Climate Change Programme, BRAC, delivered a welcome address at the seminar while Dharitri Kumar Sarkar, deputy secretary at the environment ministry, also spoke.