40pc world people at risks

* Majority of population live within 100km of coasts

* Rising sea levels pose threat

* Currents, cyclones occur often 

Climate change is having an adverse effect on the oceans. The oceans are changing rapidly. With rise in the sea level, the current is getting warmer. The wind on the surface of the oceans is becoming terrible. As a result, natural disasters like cyclones and hurricanes occur repeatedly. At the same time, the possibility of loss of lives and property is increasing.

The Covid-19 epidemic has exacerbated this danger. Research on ocean climate change has stalled. As a result, the source of information has shrunk. 

In this situation, UN experts say, the ocean has never had to face such a threat before. According to the agency, the ocean will fall into a deep crisis if it does not act in time. That will hamper trade. Mankind will fall into crisis.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has raised the issue ahead of World Meteorological Day, on Tuesday. This time the theme of the day was ‘Ocean, our climate and weather’.

“Forty percent of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast,” said Professor Petrie Talas, secretary general of the WMO. 

“So it is important to protect these people and their settlements from rising sea levels, dangerous currents or cyclones,” he warned.

In this context, Khulna University Professor of Environmental Sciences Abdullah Harun Chowdhury said, “The oceans absorb over 90 percent of the atmosphere's heat. This causes the temperature of the ocean to rise rapidly. The warm currents of the ocean can damage the livelihood of people even in areas thousands of kilometers away.”

“There is no doubt that this climate change will threaten the coastal settlements. And countries like ours, most of which are close to the sea or ocean, are more at risks,” he added.

According to UN News, a record number of hurricanes were seen in the Atlantic Ocean last year. There have been more cyclones in the southern Pacific Ocean and in the Indian Ocean. The main reason for this is the increase in the temperature of the ocean. As much as there is talk of rising sea levels due to climate change and flooding of coastal areas, the threat of global warming remains largely ignored.

Professor Petrie Talas also warns that the effects of global warming on the ocean’s ecosystem will be exorbitant. According to him, the earth will be dragged for hundreds of years. 

The ocean economy is directly or indirectly involved in the livelihoods of more than 600 billion people worldwide. Blue Economy provides Tk. 3 to 6 lakh crore every year in world trade. Therefore, the WMO has warned that the change in the behaviour of the oceans will affect the lives of a large number of people in the oceans.

Millions of dollars worth of goods and lives are lost every year. The WMO has blamed strong winds, high currents, fog, thunderstorms and extreme weather conditions for this. 

The ice in the polar regions has begun to melt faster with increase in temperature due to climate change. The WMO says the lack of ice in the polar regions is not a good news at all. The WMO chief warned that such climate change in the oceans could cause damage for hundreds of years.

Ocean's weather conditions are changing rapidly around the world, including in the polar region. The WMO feels that there is no opportunity to sit in this situation. According to the agency, every country's meteorological stations must pay constant attention to protecting life and resources not only on land but also in the oceans. It will be a 24 hour job.

Overnight monitoring of ocean weather conditions is essential. However, in this case, there is a big deficit in the research information. When the Corona pandemic spread around the world by March last year, governments and research institutes in various countries ordered the return of research ships stationed in the oceans and poles. As a result, there has been a shortage of up-to-date information. As the source of information has shrunk, there is a problem in making advance predictions. According to the WMO, this deficit needs to be addressed.

The WMO has issued a warning about the future. The agency says that if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced and global warming is kept below 2 degrees Celsius, sea levels could rise by 30-60 centimeters by 2100. And if it is not possible to control the emission of greenhouse gases, the amount can be 60–110 cm.