Temperatures are already rising and are expected to continue to rise in South Asia, thus making varied impacts in different countries. For Nepal it means that the nation may see 10 per cent GDP loss from glacier melts, climate extremes, according to Asian Development Bank (ADB) climate and economics report for South Asia.

 

“The number and frequency of extreme events have been increasing in the region,” pointed out Preety Bhandari, Director, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Division, ADB in an interaction programme held for participants of a press tour recently in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The South Asian nations would be affected by extreme weather events like landslides, floods et cetera as well as a reduced energy production from hydro-power, as per Bhandari.

 

If the current global behavior is not changed, Nepal would see economic losses equivalent to up to 2.2 per cent of annual GDP by 2050 widening to 9.9 per cent by the end of the century. But if mitigation and adaptation steps are taken, the damage could be limited to around 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2100.

 

Nepal’s agriculture — the major sector of the nation’s economy that employs 66 per cent of the total population and contributes about 39 per cent to the nation’s GDP — depends on water sourced from snow, ice and glacial melt. Though higher temperatures and carbon dioxide levels are projected to cause an increase in the rice production in the colder hills and mountains of Nepal by as much as 16 per cent by 2080, “over time, glacial retreat and uncertainty about the summer monsoon’s start and end dates will reduce crop yields and cause food insecurity”, mentions the ADB assessment.

 

Even low-lying Bangladesh could suffer annual losses up to nine per cent of its economy by the end of this century. Nonetheless, there is a need to “understand our vulnerabilities” while talking about the adverse impacts of climate change, as per Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bangladesh.

 

“Making right climate policies but without slowing down the economic growth” is the need of the hour as emphasized by Ahmed. The six countries of South Asia — Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, India and Sri Lanka — will see an average economic loss of 1.8 per cent in their collective GDP every year by 2050, rising sharply to 8.8 per cent in 2100 as per the analysis.

 

The “1.5 billion people of South Asia are living in poverty without capacity to cope with the impacts of climate change” as per Bhandari. While helping this community cope with climate change, adaptation measures are a must in South Asia. But the cost of climate change adaptation in this region largely depends on how the global community tackles the issue — ADB states that South Asia need $ 73 billion every year between now and 2100 to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change if the current trend of climate change continues.

 

However, if the rise in global temperatures is kept below 2.5 degrees Celsius, the cost for South Asia to shield itself from those impacts would be around $40.6 billion. While Maldives would be one of the hardest hit losing up to 12.6 per cent of its economy every year by 2100, India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka would lose 8.7 per cent, 6.6 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively.