Hold your horses guys. These types of pieces seem more like government initiated attempts at trying to divert attention away from the serious threat of continued erosion and prospects of flooding facing Bangladesh to concentrate on the persecution of Muslims in the country.
I don't believe this is new land "rising" out in the Bay of Bengal nor is there any indication it is here to stay. What I suspect is happening is constant flooding and river flows are causing the erosion of land from other areas of the country, including those which are higher above sea level, to be deposited along the countries shorelines which makes it appear as if new land is being formed. The fact that the
South Talpatti Island, contested by both Bangladesh and India, which had risen out of the sea in the 70s but eventually sank back into it in 2010 after years of erosion much like the continued disappearance of the
Bhola island (which is half the size it was in 1965 and erosion of which has made over half a million people homeless) is indicative that as sea levels rise due to increasing temperatures and the subsequent flooding and continued erosion that comes with it the land mentioned will eventually be engulfed by the sea.
Large swathes of Bangladesh, particularly those areas surrounding the Bay of Bengal, are at severe risk of being engulfed by the sea, becoming increasingly saline (i.e. they'd be unsuitable for growing crops exacerbating an already worrying situation) or being flooded particularly if the status quo remains:
The IPCC's (Inter Government Panel on Climate Change) AR5 (5th assessment report) projections predict a rise of anywhere from 28 cm to 61 cm by the turn of the century depending on how aggressively the world tackles emissions.
However, it was earlier published that sea levels were actually rising 60% faster than IPCC's AR4 projections and many are stating the IPCC's projections are far too conservative as exemplified by the NOAA assessments (dashed lines):
These projections are similar to those given in the Jevrejeva 2011 and Rahmstorf 2011 studies:
Jevrejeva 2011 projections:
Rahmstorf 2011 projections:
Global warming and subsequent rising sea levels also create additional problems.
- Decreased sea salinity resulting from melting freshwater ice will impact sea life which will have a more pronounced impact for a country like Bangladesh where fishing is a major industry and seafood a major staple in domestic diets (triple the per capita consumption of India and almost ten times more per capita than Pakistan as per the US FAO)
- Increased rainfall resulting in more flooding which will have a major impact on Bangladesh's infrastructure and economy.
I personally am mixed on what may occur. On one hand countries like Pakistan, India and China are already large and with growing populations along with rapidly rising income in the developing and third world as a whole they'll be consuming a lot more fossil fuels not to mention raising more animals particularly beef for consumption significantly increasing emissions which means that regardless of the cuts that Western nations make (which only constitutes about 20% of the total population of the planet) it simply won't be enough. However, technology is moving in a direction that is making electronics more efficient, solar and geothermal energy more economically viable and alongside the prospects of a world powered by nuclear fusion we could certainly see a heavy reduction in emissions but that really depends on hybrid or electric technology (ex. electric tractors, automobiles, factory equipment) being a lot more affordable.
Regardless I believe Bangladesh needs to seriously start preparing for rising sea levels and not be persuaded into letting the dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina sit around and do nothing other than persecuting the Bengali people.
Now mind you I'm definitely no expert so if anyone has information to the contrary then they should share as I'd be interested in having a look at it.