Impacts of climate change are visible in the Barind track in the form of temperature variations, erratic rainfall patterns with low monsoon rains, the decrease of the duration of rainy season, heavy rainfall occurs within a short period, increased number of cyclones and droughts, prevalence of rough weather and gradually low down of ground water level (Rahman and Rayhanul Islam 2014).
She told me, "Farmers in this region are dependent on rain-fed agriculture and have observed erratic rainfall patterns and intensity which adversely affect agricultural activities and their livelihoods.
One of the factors that could explain this observation is that more of the regions' population is engaged in subsistence farming which is mainly rain fed but due to regular drought and erratic rainfall patterns their harvest is not always sufficient to take them throughout the year.
The effects of climate change – increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather, significant warming in some hotspots and extreme temperatures, rising sea level, more erratic and unpredictable rain patterns, among other things – will influence the scale, duration, location and distance of pre-existing migration patterns.
This situation follows the late rains and prolonged dry spells that impacted crop production in 2014 2015, as well as the severe flooding that took place in early 2015 and left more than 230,000 people seeking refuge in displacement sites.2 The El Niño weather phenomenon is expected to contribute to erratic rainfall patterns in 2016, including with the likelihood of above normal rainfall.
Due to erratic rainfall pattern and uncontrolled sand mining, groundwater levels have declined to deeper levels.
Most farmers rely on erratic rain for their survival.
The rain patterns that used to be so regular and predictable are not so regular.
