Rezaul Karim*
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore, Bangladesh
Sayka Jahan
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore, Bangladesh
Md. Shariful Islam
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore, Bangladesh
Climate change, Temperature, Rainfall intensity, Flood, Cropping pattern, Agricultural systems
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore
Risk Management in Agriculture
Weather/Climate
Study area: The study was carried out at Chauhali upazila, Sirajgonj, Bangladesh. It is located on the bank of Jamuna River. There are 7 Unions in the Chauhali upazila having an area of 232 km2. The region was affected by soil erosion and flood and frequent food shortage due to uncertainty of rainfall. Therefore, the region is susceptible to climate change and the ultimate effect goes on agricultural production (Banglapedia, 2010). Methodology: Both primary and secondary data were collected in order to address the objectives of this study. Problems are discussed on the basis of secondary sources available online. The problems are discussed on expected climate changes, consequences for Bangladesh, e.g. its most vulnerable climate change-induced impacts. Rainfall and temperature data were collected from the nearby meteorological station, Bogra, Bangladesh and other relevant sources. Others sources include books, government and international reports, scientific articles and news articles that painted about climatic issues. Primary data were collected using multiple approaches including both quantitative and qualitative participatory rural appraisal (PRA) methods. The methods used included key informant interviews, 25 interviews per village, historical mapping of different climate related events over the past years that could be remembered, wealth ranking of different social economic groups based on local criteria they use and then direct field observations through transect walks. Multiple response questions were analyzed so as to give frequencies and percentages. To present different variable in the context of the report, Tables and bar charts were used. Cross-tabulation allowed a comparison of different study parameters in the two villages. Temperature and rainfall data from meteorological stations were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 to present patterns and trends of rainfall and temperature in the form of graphs. Climate of study area: Chauhali upazila has a tropical monsoon climate as the whole Bangladesh enjoys the same. Three agricultural seasons are clearly dominating among six weather seasons. Rainfall is the major source of the water in this area. March and April are the summer, when temperature remains very high and the humidity is low. Sometimes there are storms (Bengali named as Kal Baishaki). The monsoon prevails from May to October and 90 percent of the annual rainfall occurs during this period. The highest rainfall occurs during May-September and the wettest month is July. Winter starts in November and ends in February. This season is very dry and cool. There is little rainfall in this period. The minimum temperature can be seen during December and January. The mean of that period is 18° centigrade. The highest temperature of 42.8° centigrade can be seen in April or May. The lowest temperature of 5° centigrade occurs in January and April is the hottest month (Banglapedia, 2008). Cropping patterns: Although different varieties of crops are grown in Bangladesh, rice is overwhelmingly the dominant crop in terms of acreage and importance as the staple food. Rice alone accounts for about 75 per cent of the cropping area in the country. In terms of acreage, other important crops grown in the country are wheat (4.4 %), jute (3.9 %), potato (1.1%), pulses (2.79%), sugarcane (1.12%), chilli (1.05%), and oil seeds (3.08%). Additionally, there are small scale cultivation of onion, gram, garlic and groundnut etc. (Mainuddin et al, 2011). Various factors that control the agricultural production are yield season, numbers of dry days, heavy rainfall, high temperature and potential evapotranspiration. According to these criteria, Chauhali thana has three agricultural seasons named rabi (October-February), Kharif-I (March-June) and Kharif-II (July-September). Boro rice is cultivated with the help of irrigation in the medium low land. Mustard, maskalai, wheat, groundnut, potato, khesari and vegetables are mainly cultivated in the Rabi season. Boro rice, jute, oil seed and autumn rice are cultivated in the Kharif season (Banglapedia, 2008).
J. Sci. Tech. Env. Info. 01(01): 16-26, 2014
Journal