Boro, mango, dairy, poultry sectors face massive losses worth billions due to heatwave: BRAC

Bangladesh's agriculture sector is facing massive losses worth several billions due to the record-breaking heatwaves that swept the country in April, according to a new research.

"Nationwide Boro rice production may decrease 6-16%, and 30% of mango buds fell off due to prolonged drought followed by heatwaves," Md Liakath Ali, director of the Climate Change Programme, Urban Development Programme, and Disaster Risk Management Programme at BRAC said yesterday (23 May) while presenting a research paper on heatwave.

"Moreover, the poultry industry lost Tk200 crore in recent two weeks of heatwaves," he said while presenting the research findings during a seminar at Renaissance Hotel, Gulshan, Dhaka, organised by BRAC's Climate Change Programme.

The continuous heatwave in April this year in Bangladesh has broken a 76-year record for high temperatures.

The estimated loss of dairy products- milk, eggs, and meat- due to the hot weather was 25%, BRAC said in a press statement issued today (24 May).

According to the press statement, labour-intensive sectors suffered an output loss of Tk50,000 crore in Dhaka City alone.

"Dhaka is losing $6 billion worth of labour productivity per year due to heat stress. As a result, by 2030, Bangladesh could lose 5% of its total productivity, equivalent to nearly 4 million full-time jobs, and experience GDP losses of up to 4.9%," Liakath Ali said at the event.

Speaker at the event said comprehensive preparations should be made to deal with such extreme weather conditions. 

Speaking as the chief guest at the event, Farhina Ahmed, secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said, "We are working on incorporating the health aspect of climate change into the National Adaptation Plan (NAP). Specific actions and interventions related to the effect of heatwaves on health shall be undertaken so our healthcare systems can be better prepared to tackle these issues.

"We also need to build capacity and awareness among diverse groups in the population so that citizens are better equipped to combat the effects of extreme heatwaves."

She added, "We need to prepare our engineers and architects to develop infrastructure and designs that emphasise nature-based solutions. We must retrofit our current infrastructure and bring in new technologies to reduce heat generation."

Delivering the closing remarks, Asif Saleh, executive director of BRAC, said, "Marginalised communities are the most vulnerable to any type of disaster. We saw it during Covid-19, during the economic crisis, and in the impacts of climate change.

"Those who do not have a voice and those who have no one to listen to them are most at risk. Unfortunately, marginalised communities are suffering the most for something they are not responsible for."

Bushra Afreen, chief heat officer at Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), said, "The city of Dhaka was never built with heat resilience in mind. With very limited resources and keeping sustainability in mind, we must all work together and enact the commitments we make."