On a cloudy morning, Nurun Nabi is loading bamboo and tin sheets onto a wooden boat. His house, built just last year on a fragile island in the Brahmaputra River, faces the threat of being swept away. For the second time in a year, he finds himself uprooted. “The river is getting closer every day,” he says, his voice heavy with weariness. “We are meant to suffer. This struggle never ends. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve had to leave my home.”
At 50, Nabi must move to another char, a temporary island formed by river sediment. His rice and lentils fields are already gone, taken by the relentless river. “I don’t know what we’ll find in our new home,” he reflects, gazing at the wide brown waters. “If we’re lucky, we get a few years; if not, maybe just a month. This is our life.”
### A Constant Battle
Every year, families in Kurigram, northern Bangladesh, face a similar fate. Erosion takes not just their homes, but also their land, crops, and livestock. The Brahmaputra, along with the Teesta and Dharla rivers, has become unpredictable, washing away land faster than ever before.
Habibur Rahman, a 70-year-old farmer, knows this struggle all too well. “You go to bed thinking you’re safe, and by morning, the riverbank has moved,” he says. “You wake up homeless. There’s no peace in our lives.”
With the U.N. climate summit approaching in Brazil, stories like Nabi’s and Rahman’s resonate. Bangladesh is often seen as a model of resilience, improving flood forecasting and building embankments. But without greater international support, these efforts may not be enough. “People here pay for emissions they never created,” says Ainun Nishat, a climate expert. “If COP30 means anything, it must provide real funding for nations like ours to protect our homes.”
### Climate Change at Work
What’s happening in Kurigram exemplifies climate change. The melting Himalayan glaciers that feed the rivers are speeding up. Nishat notes, “We see rapid glacial melt. It’s almost twice as fast as in the 1990s.” Increased water flows into already swollen rivers, while monsoons have become erratic. “When it rains, it pours; when it stops, there are droughts. This instability worsens erosion and floods.”
Despite contributing less than half a percent of global emissions, Bangladesh faces dire consequences from climate change. According to the World Bank, one in seven Bangladeshis could be displaced by climate-related disasters by 2050.
Kosim Uddin, also 50 and a father of seven, has moved countless times. “The river has taken my home 30 or 35 times—maybe more. Each time we rebuild, the river takes it back,” he says, staring at the water. “But where can we go? The whole world feels like water now.”
Women carry much of the weight of this constant upheaval. Shahina Begum, 30 and a mother of two, remembers cooking for her family in waist-deep water during last year’s floods. “We’ve moved six times in ten years,” she says. “Every time we start over, the river takes it back. It’s so much harder for women and girls—we need to find dry land while taking care of children, and there’s no privacy or safety.”
### Hope Amidst Adversity
On Kheyar Alga Char, about 300 families have stayed put for three years thanks to local efforts that installed geobags—large sand-filled sacks that protect riverbanks from erosion. “Geobags have made a huge difference,” says Johurul Islam, who lost his home over ten times before settling here. “For the first time, I feel a little hopeful about the future.” NGOs are also helping by building elevated villages to withstand floods.
Standing by the firm riverbank, Islam expressed cautious optimism. “Maybe the river will come again. But this time, we’re ready. For now, the land is holding—and so are we.”
Climate change may be a relentless force, but the resilience of the people in Bangladesh shines through their struggle. Even in the face of uncertainty, they continue to rebuild and look towards a hopeful future.
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The World Bank, Johurul Islam, India, Shahina, Himalayas, Kheyar Alga Char, China, Shahina Begum, Uddin, Habibur Rahman, Kurigram, Nabi, Dharla, Brazil, Kosim Uddin
