Global Warming to Blame for Cyclone Sidr

It is almost three weeks since the devastating Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh, killing more than 3,500 people. The country is still trying to cope with the aftermath.

The United Nations say the humanitarian crisis caused by cyclone is much worse than previously thought, and the funds available so far for nearly two million affected people are simply not enough.

Mahbub Kabir works for Action Aid in Dhaka. He thinks the devastation caused by the cyclone is so massive that reconstruction is going to be a big challenge.

He says more money is needed: "Donors have provided immediate relief but the donations for the rebuilding of the houses and also agricultural rehabilitation are not enough."

Clear link to global warming

Bangladesh is regularly hit by floods, cyclones and droughts. But the frequency of these disasters has increased tremendously in recent years.

The country was still reeling from heavy floods in July when the devastating cyclone Sidr hit earlier this month.

Experts blame the clearly changing climate for the worsening situation. Wahida Bahsar Ahmad from Action Aid explained: "This year we observed low pressure in the Bay of Bengal for quite a few months. It is related to climate change -- last year we had a big cyclone, this year again and we're expecting another one."

Environmentalists warn that if the low-lying countries such as Bangladesh see a further rise in sea levels, vast areas of land in coastal zones will be submerged and millions of people will be displaced from their homes.

New climate pact

These concerns come at a time when world leaders and activists are gathered in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali to discuss ways to curb greenhouse emissions and hammer out a roadmap for creating a fresh pact to combat global warming.

Representatives from poor countries argue that the new deal, which is to replace the Kyoto Protoco, must give them more help to deal with climate change. Kate Raworth, a climate expert from the NGO Oxfam explained that poor countries were likely to bear most of the repercussions.

"They are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change," she said. "They are facing more droughts, flood, hurricanes and that’s really affecting their population. They are losing their crops, losing their fish docks and they don’t have enough resources to cope with the new reality."

"It’s the rich countries, which have produced huge amount of carbon over the decades," she continued. "And they got rich in the process. It is a clear moral obligation to help the poor countries to help deal with climate change."