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The impact of climate extremes and water shortage upon human health
... Musa Khan's water would fulfill about 50% of the water budget for about 900 sq km of basin area. Prior to water piracy period, more than 97% of this basin area would remain inundated during July through October and wet later on except from March through May when canals, ditches and shallow floodplains would dry out (Adel, 1999a). This huge area was the natural breeding and raising grounds of the 109 species of Gangetic fishes as well as the groundwater recharging ground. ...
... Observations reveal backbone pain in young and old population in the project area. In some villages, multiple stroke patients are observed in the same family (Adel, 1999a). ...
... Subcutaneous fat protects the body's temperature. Unusual number of deaths in winter time were reported by Adel (1999aAdel ( , 2000bAdel ( , 2003. Those deaths could be related to protein deficiency. ...
... Due to the piracy of the elixir water, many elements of the biotic system have been extinct and the rest are endangered. The ecocide effects in the Ganges basin include the loss of the surface 86 Upstream Water Piracy, the Strongest Weapon of Cornering a Downstream Nation water resources, destruction of the inland navigable routes, the depletion of the natural breeding and raising grounds of 109 species of Gangetic fishes and the natural wells for groundwater recharge, the alarmingly sinking of the groundwater table and its contamination with arsenic in the continued absence of the recharging surface water and the over-dependence on the groundwater, the sufferings of 75 million people from the risk of arsenicosis causing a 20% fatality, the break-off of family ties of arsenic patients, rising malnutrition among the people from the scarcity of fish, the cheapest sources of calcium and the indispensable animal protein, the loss of people's annual and seasonal livelihoods, the generation of extreme climate with an increased number of warmer summer days and colder winter days than before the beginning of the piracy in1975, scanty and erratic rainfalls, the loss of numerous biodiversity before the preparation of an inventory, coastal erosion, widespread inland advancement of saline water front, and the deterioration of the Ganges water quality (Miah, 1995(Miah, , 1996a(Miah, , 1996c(Miah, , 1996dMiah and Samad, 1996;Miah, 1997;Adel, 1999aAdel, , 1999bAdel, , 2000aAdel, , 2000bAdel, , 2001Adel, , 2002Adel, , 2003Adel, , 2004aAdel, , 2004bAdel, , 2005Adel, , 2008aAdel, , 2008bAdel, , 2012aAdel, , 2012bAdel, , 2013aAdel, , 2013bAdel, , 2013c, 2013d, 2013e) ...
... The generation of unbearable heat and cold is just the absence of water bodies. People suffer many environmental diseases like asthma, hypertension, heart diseases, and in many cases several family members in the same family suffer from multiple diseases (Adel, 1999a). ...
... Armpits and the abdomen feel cold. Central Dhaka LAT (1995) 39 NW 102 Adel (1999a;2000) NW,SW hundreds Reporter (1998) NW,SW 2,000 UCA (2003; NW,Cntrl, SW 750 300/day Clarke (1972) 2006(AP, 2003 46 ...
ABSTRACT
Since the 80’s, the northwestern and the southwestern parts of the tropical Bangladesh located in the
downstream Ganges basin have been having summer temperature above 109°F and winter temperature as
low as 37°F. Every year people, particularly, the infants die from heat-and cold-related diseases and
hospitals become packed-up with the victims of severe climatic condition. The objective of this research is
to find the reason for the appearances of the extreme climate in certain parts of the country. Water bodies
being reservoirs of heat, the condition of the rivers and other surface water resources has been examined. It
is found that the continued water piracy at the upstream from the downstream Bangladesh Ganges
discharge, the major source of water for the northwestern and southwestern parts, has depleted surface ater
resources and sunken the down the groundwater table. About 60% evaporation of the massively extracted
groundwater to make up for the surface water shortage goes to merely increase the relative humidity
without causing rainfall. Summer time lingering high temperature and high humidity cause the severity of
summer weather. In the absence of the virgin surface water bodies, there is little room for storing heat for
wintertime warming. The entire Ganges basin loses at least 10 times the heat it used to store in the water abundant days. Summertime maximum temperature, HDDs and CDDs are negatively and wintertime
minimum temperature is positive correlated with the decline of the Ganges’s discharge. Indian Government
has to decommission her dams and barrages to mitigate the sufferings of the downstream people in
Bangladesh. The greatest implication of this research is the accountability of the anthropogenic actions-caused depleting inland water bodies through storing, distribution via multi-channeling, irrigation, industrial and domestic use, for the occurrences of global heating vis-à-vis cooling and not CO2 and other greenhouse gases accumulation in space. Immediate international actions are needed to end the episode.
... To verify that annual maximum and minimum temperatures can reliably be taken as the indicators of climate change and to lend support to the choice of baseline year, annual HDDs and CDDs were found for the 25 years 1971-95. HDDs were calculated with a threshold temperature of 30°C (Jager, 1987;Adel, 1999b). The majority of the people in the delta live in open-windowed houses and work in the open air. ...
Climate data pertaining to the Ganges basin in Bangladesh were analysed to find any climatic changes in the wake of the upstream water diversion by the Farakka Barrage. Whereas the diversions have been continuing from at least 30 international rivers upstream of Bangladesh, the diversion from the Ganges is the best known and has a wider coverage than all other diversions. The diversion reduced the Ganges' discharge through the delta by about 60% from a pre-diversion average value of 1932 m3 s−1, decreased water availability in flood plains, ponds, canals, and ditches by about 50%, dropped the groundwater table, and caused changes in surface features. It took about 5 years of diversions beyond the test run year of 1975 for the environment to react to set 1981 as the baseline year. During the post-baseline era: (1) heating degree days and cooling degree days were respectively 1.33 and 1.44 times more than their counterparts during the pre-baseline era; (2) the summertime and wintertime average temperatures were respectively 1 °C more and 0.5 °C less than the corresponding values during the pre-baseline era; (3) the mode 32 °C of summertime maximum temperatures was 1 °C higher and occurred 414 times more, and the mode 25 °C of wintertime temperature was 1 °C less and occurred 17 times less than the corresponding quantities during the pre-baseline era; (4) the average value of maximum relative humidity has increased by more than 2% and that of minimum relative humidity has dropped by the same amount; (5) the mode 95% and 70% of maximum and minimum relative humidity values have occurred 1322 times and 84 times more respectively than their pre-baseline counterparts; and (6) the frequency for 100 mm or more rainfall and the monthly average rainfalls have dropped by about 50% and 30% respectively. The solution to the climatic changes lies in the restoration of the virgin Ganges flow, dredging of the Ganges and its distributaries to remove shoals and siltation, and re-excavation of canals for water discharge to depleted surface water bodies to re-establish the lost wetland ecosystems. The findings are useful for climate modellers to predict the climatic changes due to changes in surface features, for policy makers of governments of riparian countries constructing dams/barrages on international rivers for unilateral diversion of water, and for donor agencies who finance such projects. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society.
India has been pirating 60% of the Bangladesh Gangetic ecosystem's water since 1975 after construction of a feeder canal by the Farakka Barrage in the name of maintaining the navigability of the Calcutta Port located at the mouth of the Hooghly River. As a consequence, massive ecocide has unfolded in Bangladesh. India's forced piracy and Bangladesh's compelled consent to piracy, for a meager discharge, have continued for the past forty years. This study focuses on Calcutta Port's navigability source, navigability loss and past maintenance, India's water crisis, and India's use of the looted water resources. Sources of information included electronic and print media, site visitations, expert interviews, fieldwork, travel accounts, research institutions, and government offices. The study finds Calcutta Port's brisk use during the British period, Calcutta Port's Ganges discharge-independent establishment, India's development of other ports in post-independent India, the storage of the Hooghly's water in reservoirs, Calcutta Port's navigability loss unworthy of causing ecocide in Bangladesh, India's inland cruise line setup with the pirated water, and the stealing of water from border rivers. As a member of the Ramsar Convention inter-governmental panel since 1971, India's actions violate the Convention's doctrines of saving a permanent or temporary water body without regard to its location, kind, size, and depth through international convention. For environmental justice, India should pay Bangladesh earnings from the looted water's commercial use, cover dredging costs of Bangladesh's clogged rivers and canals, close the feeder canal, demolish the Farakka Barrage, and return the water to Bangladesh. Furthermore, India should be financially responsible for the full recharge of the groundwater, purification of arsenic, treatment for millions of potential and current arsenic patients and 20% arsenic fatalities, lost livelihoods, salinity removal, rebuilding of the eroded coast, revitalization of extinct flora and fauna, and establishment of normal climate.
The article studies over 100 meetings between India and Bangladesh, the resulting temporary water- sharing agreements on the Ganges water, and the Indian grand river networking plan and its potential downstream impact. The Indian Ganges branch, the Hugli, lost its navigability because of dam constructions on its tributaries. India then constructed the Farakka Barrage on the Ganges to divert the Bangladesh Ganges water to the Hugli. India broke the agreement of a 41-day test-run of the barrage in April-May 1975, and unilaterally diverted water till the end of 1977 when a 5-year treaty was signed after raising the issue to the UN General Assembly that prompted Indian dailies' heinous comments against Bangladesh. Later, two memoranda of understanding were signed by the two governments in 1982 and 1985. Unilateral water diversion continued from 1988 through 1996 toward the end of which a 30-year treaty was signed. Unilateral water diversion from the downstream country's share is a gross violation of human rights, and the procrastination in a permanent water sharing treaty along with a subcontinental scale river networking plan is downstream ecosystem-destructive. For the ecosystem's survivability, UN should mediate transboundary water conflicts.
Bangladesh faces at least 30 upstream water diversion constructions of which Farakka Barrage is the major one. The effects of Farakka Barrage on water resources, socioeconomy, and culture have been investigated downstream in the basins of the Ganges and its distributaries. A diversion of up to 60% of the Ganges water over 25 yr has caused (i) reduction of water in surface water resources, (ii) increased dependence on ground water, (iii) destruction of the breeding and raising grounds for 109 species of Gangetic fishes and other aquatic species and amphibians, (iv) increased malnutrition, (v) deficiency in soil organic matter content, (vi) change in the agricultural practices, (vii) eradication of inland navigable routes, (viii) outbreak of waterborne diseases, (ix) loss of professions, and (x) obstruction to religious observances and pastimes. Further, arsenopyrites buried in the prebarrage water table have come in contact with air and formed water-soluble compounds of arsenic. Inadequate recharging of ground water hinders the natural cleansing of arsenic, and threatens about 75,000,000 lives who are likely to use water contaminated with up to 2 mg/L of arsenic. Furthermore, the depletion of surface water resources has caused environmental heating and cooling effects. Apart from these effects, sudden releases of water by the barrage during the flood season cause devestating floods. In consideration of such a heavy toll for the areas downstream, strict international rules have to be laid down to preserve the riparian ecosystems.
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