Floods threaten millions of Bangladesh children and families

Twenty million people in living in parts of Bangladesh risk poverty and homelessness because of rising sea levels, according to new research.

By 2050, 70 million people will be affected by floods every year and eight million by drought. Destructive cyclones are also predicted to increase.

The frightening forecast from the country’s Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services comes as the government appeals for $5bn (£3bn) over five years, to help it adapt to cope with climate change.

The research predicts that a small area of land will be permanently lost to the rising waters, but major flooding every monsoon season could paralyse vast swathes of land in the south-west of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is among a number of developing countries campaigning for funding to accommodate climate change. There are hopes that the richest nations will agree to massive funding at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.

"For Bangladesh, climate change is not a future threat but a contemporary crisis,” Britain's Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, warned on a visit to Bangladesh to whip up support ahead of the conference. “Families here in Bangladesh have given a human face to that crisis.

“In the next 100 days we need to reach agreement to prevent dangerous climate change from happening and provide for the funds for the deal to make the changes," Mr Miliband said, “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the climate change summit in Copenhagen later this year.”

Salty water from rising sea levels and poor flood defences could spread far inland, scientists predict, making it hard to grow basic foods like rice, which as well as jeopardising food supplies would leave many out of work in the country’s poorest areas. Nearly half of all the rice Bangladesh grows is so-called "monsoon" rice and much of that is grown in the areas most vulnerable to flooding.

"These are very poor people, and vulnerable,” Ahmadul Hassan, a senior Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services scientist told the BBC. For four months they'll have nowhere to work," he said.

"So people will migrate to the cities for jobs, because of the uncomfortable situation with sea level rise. We are talking about 20 million people," he said.

Thousands of Bangaldeshi families were left homeless, and many hundreds killed, in May this year when Cyclone Aila caused widespread flooding and damage.