Scorching Heatwaves and Power Outages Devastate Rural Bangladesh

Strategic Insights -

Frequent power outages, lasting up to an hour or more, have become a norm in rural Bangladesh, exacerbating the suffering of residents during the rising day temperatures. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department warned that the region is likely to experience hotter and drier days ahead, with reduced rainfall. The heatwaves in September, the last monsoon month, are rare but increasingly common due to global warming.

Key Takeaways:

  • The highest maximum temperature of 35.8°C was recorded in Rajshahi on Thursday, while Dhaka recorded its highest maximum temperature of 33.9°C.
  • Meherun Nesa, a resident of Tangail, reported that the power cuts are so frequent that they cannot recharge their IPS, with 10 hours or more of power cuts since September began.
  • Between August 29 and September 1, the daily temperature in Sylhet increased by 5.5°C, while in Dhaka, the temperature increased by 4.3°C between the last day of August and the first day of September.
  • Power outages occurred almost every hour in Bangladesh, even when the power demand was around 13,000MW, less than half of Bangladesh's installed power generation capacity of 28,132MW.
  • The highest load shedding of 283MW was recorded on September 3, with 5,227MW generated from gas, 42% of the installed gas capacity, and 82% of the coal capacity used during the peak load shedding hour.
  • Heatwaves in September occurred 17 times between 1980 and 2023, with 12 of them after 2015, according to the Changing Climate of Bangladesh report.
  • The report also stated that the number of heatwave days increased dramatically after 2005 in Rajshahi, with heatwaves even recorded in October in Rangpur.
  • Heatwaves are particularly dangerous in Bangladesh due to the high moisture in the air, which obstructs the natural cooling system of the body.

Statistics:

  • The highest maximum temperature of 35.8°C was recorded in Rajshahi.
  • The highest load shedding of 283MW was recorded on September 3.
  • 5,227MW was generated from gas during the peak load shedding hour, accounting for 42% of the installed gas capacity.
  • 82% of the coal capacity was used during the peak load shedding hour.
  • 60% of the oil capacity was used at the peak load shedding hour.
  • Heatwaves in September occurred 17 times between 1980 and 2023.

Sources:

  • Bangladesh Meteorological Department
  • Power Grid Bangladesh
  • Changing Climate of Bangladesh report
  • World Bank report (2021)
  • World Bank report (2019)