Published: 08:56 AM, 05 July 2025
Climate Refugees in Bangladesh: Invisible Victims of Global Warming
In the quiet erosion of riverbanks, in the saline-crusted fields of the southwest, and the crowded slums of Dhaka, a silent humanitarian crisis is unfolding. These are the spaces where climate change reveals its harshest truths in Bangladesh. Often excluded from refugee definitions and global migration frameworks, millions of Bangladeshis are being internally displaced each year due to climate-induced disasters. These "climate refugees" are among the most vulnerable and least recognized victims of global warming, bearing the burden of emissions they had little hand in creating.
Bangladesh’s geography makes it especially susceptible to climate-related displacement. The country is a delta cradled by the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers, and 70% of its territory lies less than one meter above sea level. As a result, the population is constantly exposed to floods, cyclones, riverbank erosion, sea-level rise, salinization, and droughts—each of which acts as a trigger for forced migration.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), over 800,000 people in Bangladesh were displaced by sudden-onset climate disasters in 2023 alone. These figures, however, do not reflect the countless others who are gradually forced to leave home due to salinity intrusion, land degradation, or chronic water shortages. The World Bank projects that by 2050, climate change could displace over 13 million Bangladeshis, making it the country with the highest number of climate-induced internal migrants in South Asia.
Gabura, a union in Satkhira district, once thrived on rice farming and shrimp cultivation. But after Cyclone Aila struck in 2009, the region's embankments were breached, and seawater engulfed its fields. In the years since, salinity levels have continued to increase, contaminating drinking water and rendering agriculture nearly impossible. Today, much of Gabura is abandoned.
Families have migrated en masse to Khulna or informal settlements in Dhaka’s Mirpur and Mohammadpur areas—those left behind live with brackish water, decayed farmland, and broken infrastructure. Many young women have been trafficked or forced into early marriage after displacement stripped their families of income. Without land titles, these internally displaced persons (IDPs) receive no formal compensation or rehabilitation assistance.
Most climate migrants do not cross borders; instead, they relocate within the country, often to urban peripheries. Dhaka, the capital city, is now home to more than 21 million people—its population swelled by thousands arriving weekly from disaster-prone areas. Many of these migrants end up in overcrowded slums without clean water, proper housing, or access to services.
These new urban poor are especially vulnerable. In the Korail slum in Dhaka, many residents trace their origins to river-eroded villages along the Jamuna or Padma rivers. They survive as rickshaw pullers, domestic workers, or laborers in construction. Living without legal recognition, they lack access to voting rights, social welfare, or disaster recovery programs. These populations remain invisible in national policies and censuses.
In northern Bangladesh, the Jamuna River’s shifting course has transformed fertile lands into wastelands. In the Gaibandha district, riverbank erosion annually displaces thousands of people. Families lose homes, land, and ancestral burial grounds in a matter of hours. Some rebuild inland, only to be uprooted again the next year.
One such victim, Abul Kalam, has relocated four times since 2015. He now lives in a makeshift bamboo shelter on government-owned “khas” land, which has no tenure rights. Despite repeated losses, he has received no compensation. “A cyclone or a flood does not hit us, so no one comes with food or help,” he says. These "slow-onset" disasters fall outside the usual disaster response mechanisms, leaving thousands in a state of legal and humanitarian limbo.
Climate-induced displacement does not affect everyone equally. Women and children are often the worst impacted, facing gender-based violence, reduced access to education, and reproductive health risks. The disintegration of traditional support systems in displacement zones leads to early marriages, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence.
In Khulna and Jessore, researchers have documented how women from cyclone-affected families are pushed into exploitative labor or trafficking networks. The loss of male family members to urban migration often leaves women heading households under precarious conditions. Access to menstrual hygiene, contraception, or maternal care is nearly nonexistent in temporary settlements.
Bangladesh has made strides in disaster preparedness. Early warning systems, cyclone shelters, and community-based adaptation programs have saved lives. However, the issue of climate displacement remains insufficiently addressed in national policy. The Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) of 2009 identifies migration as an issue but does not provide a concrete framework for protection, relocation, or reintegration.
There is currently no national registry of climate migrants, no legal category recognizing climate-induced displacement, and no specific funding stream for IDP resettlement. Urban development plans, such as the Detailed Area Plan for Dhaka, do not consider the influx of climate refugees. Nor is there any centralized data collection to track migration patterns, needs, or vulnerabilities.
Furthermore, the term “climate refugee” is not legally recognized under the 1951 Refugee Convention or international law, which means those displaced across borders due to climate change receive no protection. Within national borders, internally displaced persons (IDPs) fall between agencies. Disaster response focuses on immediate relief; migration policy focuses on labor and remittances; urban planning focuses on infrastructure, not human security.
In the chars (riverine islands) of the Meghna River, displacement is cyclical. These lands emerge and disappear in response to river dynamics. In Bhola and Noakhali, entire char villages vanish every few years due to floods or erosion. The inhabitants—mostly farmers and fishermen—migrate repeatedly, building temporary homes without electricity, roads, or clinics. In Char Montaz, 42-year-old Fatema Begum has relocated her home three times in the past decade. “We are born knowing the river will take our land,” she says. With no permanent address, her family cannot access voter ID cards, social security, or land deeds. Each time they relocate, they start from zero. “We are not beggars, but we have nothing left.”
Such cases are increasingly common. Yet, government land allocation programs rarely reach them, as they are seen as “transient” or “illegal squatters.” In the absence of formal tenure, these climate migrants are criminalized rather than supported.
Addressing climate-induced displacement in Bangladesh requires a multi-pronged and integrated approach. First, it is crucial to recognize climate-induced migration as a legitimate form of displacement. This recognition should inform legislation, development planning, and disaster management frameworks.
Second, a national action plan should be developed to support IDPs, focusing on protection, relocation, and reintegration. This plan must be rights-based, gender-sensitive, and developed through consultations with affected communities. Urban municipalities should be capacitated to absorb incoming migrants by expanding affordable housing, sanitation, mobile health services, and decentralized education facilities.
Third, land rights must be revisited. Providing secure land tenure or transferable resettlement rights can offer climate migrants a basis for rebuilding their lives. Incentives for planned relocation—such as housing cooperatives or climate-resilient village models—could reduce unplanned urban migration.
Fourth, data systems must be strengthened. A national registry of climate-displaced individuals, disaggregated by gender, age, and location, can guide resource allocation and development aid. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery should be integrated to predict displacement hotspots and inform relocation strategies.
Finally, international partners must support Bangladesh through targeted climate finance for loss and damage. The principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” requires high-emitting countries to compensate vulnerable nations for the irreversible climate harms they have caused. Part of these funds should support durable solutions for climate migrants, both within and beyond borders.
Climate refugees in Bangladesh are not statistics; they are farmers who lost their land to saltwater, children who walk five kilometers to overcrowded schools, women who risk violence to fetch water, and elderly citizens who will never see their ancestral village again. Their stories are stories of loss, but also resilience. They demand recognition not as passive victims, but as agents of adaptation.
As the climate crisis intensifies, displacement is expected to increase. If left unaddressed, it will strain cities, deepen poverty, and erode social cohesion. But with timely and inclusive policy, climate-induced migration can be transformed from a source of vulnerability into a pathway of resilience and renewal.
The window for action is narrow, but the imperative is clear. To protect the invisible victims of global warming is not merely a question of national interest—it is a question of climate justice. In safeguarding them, Bangladesh can also illuminate a pathway for the world—a humane, dignified, and equitable response to one of the 21st century’s most urgent crises.
Dr. Matiur Rahman is a researcher
and a development activist.
