Bangladesh in the frontline against climate change

It’s still Monsoon-time in Bangladesh – and the rain continues to fall. Coping with flooding has already become a way of life for the resilient people living in Satkhira, southern Bangladesh, who are learning to live with the increasing impacts of climate change.

Starting today, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is convening a Summit on Climate Change in New York to focus Heads of State and Government on the need for urgent action in advance of December’s UN summit in Copenhagen.

High on the agenda will be the need for extra money – above existing aid commitments - to help people living in vulnerable countries, such as Bangladesh, to adapt to their changing environment.

The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), with the UN and others, is already helping 500,000 ordinary Bangladeshi people adapt on-the-ground by using various simple, yet innovative, methods.

These pictures were taken just a few days ago in Satkhira. They show the Bangladeshi people’s resilience and determination to survive against the odds – whatever the weather brings…

DFID will spend up to £75m on helping to tackle the impacts of climate change on Bangladesh over the next five years.