On November 26, BBC reported that a small village in the eastern coast of Bangladesh has unexpectedly high rate of miscarriage. Researchers investigated and they have concluded that climate change might be to blame.
While miscarriages are not uncommon, scientists who follow the community noticed the increase of miscarriage rate compared to other areas and they believe that climate change is the reason for this.
"This is climate change in action," says Dr. Manzoor Hanifi, a scientist from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (ICDDRB), a research institute. "The effect on the land is visible, but the effect on the body: that we don't see."
ICDDRB have been running health and demographic surveillance site in and around the Chakaria district for the last thirty years, which enables them to detect any changes in the areas they monitor.
Over the years, many families left plains and moved inland, into the forest hill area, just those family who can afford to bribe forest wardens.
"We paid a 230,000 Taka ($2,752, £2,106) bribe to build the house," Kajol Rekha, who moved to the hills from the plains with her husband and two children three years ago, said as per BBC report. "Because of the water, my kids would always have a fever, especially when our house remained wet after the flood. Everything is easier here."
According to ICDDRB, women inland are less likely to miscarry. There are 12,867 pregnancies in the hill area and plains. They found out that women in coastal plains, living within 20kn of the coastline and 7m above the sea level were 1.3 times more like to miscarry than women who live inland.
"The difference may seem small, but the number of miscarriages on the plains seems to be growing," Dr. Hanifi said.
"A lot of money is being thrown at climate change interventions," Dr. Hanafi added, "but almost none of it goes into research - not for the public health impact anyway. Everyone is thinking about environmental disasters. No one is thinking about public health."
