IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-64920-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Disparities in exposure to hydrogeomorphic hazards in Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Amelie Paszkowski

    (University of Oxford, Environmental Change Institute)

  • Timothy Tiggeloven

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Edoardo Borgomeo

    (University of Cambridge, Centre for Sustainable Development, Department of Engineering)

  • Jim W. Hall

    (University of Oxford, Environmental Change Institute)

Abstract

Natural hazards can impair socio-economic development. While population exposure to various natural hazards has been quantified, the exposure to hydrogeomorphic hazards – involving water-induced landscape changes – remains unknown. Using high-resolution hydrogeomorphic modelling, combined with population and wealth data, this study provides a national-scale spatial assessment of exposure to hydrogeomorphic hazards across population and wealth groups, taking Bangladesh as a case study. Bangladesh is an exceptionally geo-dynamic country, where multiple hazards coincide with a dense population (1300 people per km2) and a high poverty rate (20%). Here we show that over 22 million people, making up 13% of the population, live within hydrogeomorphically unstable regions. Of the 22 million, 86% are within the lowest wealth groups of the population. Given such a high level of disparity in exposure, hydrogeomorphic hazards must be incorporated into disaster risk management and poverty alleviation efforts in Bangladesh and beyond.

Suggested Citation

  • Amelie Paszkowski & Timothy Tiggeloven & Edoardo Borgomeo & Jim W. Hall, 2025. "Disparities in exposure to hydrogeomorphic hazards in Bangladesh," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64920-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64920-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64920-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-64920-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dercon, Stefan & Christiaensen, Luc, 2011. "Consumption risk, technology adoption and poverty traps: Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 159-173, November.
    2. Maryia Markhvida & Brian Walsh & Stephane Hallegatte & Jack Baker, 2020. "Quantification of disaster impacts through household well-being losses," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(7), pages 538-547, July.
    3. Mohammad Ehsanul Kabir & Palash Kamruzzaman, 2022. "Exploring the Drivers of Vulnerability Among Disadvantaged Internal Migrants in Riverbank Erosion Prone Areas in North-West Bangladesh," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 17(1), pages 57-83, April.
    4. Roy Brouwer & Sonia Akter & Luke Brander & Enamul Haque, 2007. "Socioeconomic Vulnerability and Adaptation to Environmental Risk: A Case Study of Climate Change and Flooding in Bangladesh," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 313-326, April.
    5. Winsemius, Hessel C. & Jongman, Brenden & Veldkamp, Ted I.E. & Hallegatte, Stephane & Bangalore, Mook & Ward, Philip J., 2018. "Disaster risk, climate change, and poverty: assessing the global exposure of poor people to floods and droughts," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 328-348, June.
    6. Camelia Dewan & Aditi Mukherji & Marie-Charlotte Buisson, 2015. "Evolution of water management in coastal Bangladesh: from temporary earthen embankments to depoliticized community-managed polders," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 401-416, May.
    7. Akter, Sonia & Mallick, Bishawjit, 2013. "The poverty–vulnerability–resilience nexus: Evidence from Bangladesh," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 114-124.
    8. Stéphane Hallegatte & Adrien Vogt-Schilb & Julie Rozenberg & Mook Bangalore & Chloé Beaudet, 2020. "From Poverty to Disaster and Back: a Review of the Literature," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 223-247, April.
    9. Stephane Hallegatte & Julie Rozenberg, 2017. "Climate change through a poverty lens," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(4), pages 250-256, April.
    10. Daniel Adshead & Amelie Paszkowski & Sarah S. Gall & Alison M. Peard & Mohammed Sarfaraz Gani Adnan & Jasper Verschuur & Jim W. Hall, 2024. "Author Correction: Climate threats to coastal infrastructure and sustainable development outcomes," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 14(5), pages 547-547, May.
    11. repec:plo:pone00:0107042 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Tuhin K. Das & Sushil Haldar & Debaprasad Sarkar & Marion Borderon & Stefan Kienberger & Ivy das Gupta & Sangeeta Kundu & Debarati Guha-Sapir, 2017. "Impact of riverbank erosion: A case study," Post-Print hal-01909545, HAL.
    13. L. W. Auerbach & S. L. Goodbred Jr & D. R. Mondal & C. A. Wilson & K. R. Ahmed & K. Roy & M. S. Steckler & C. Small & J. M. Gilligan & B. A. Ackerly, 2015. "Flood risk of natural and embanked landscapes on the Ganges–Brahmaputra tidal delta plain," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(2), pages 153-157, February.
    14. Bryan Jones & Brian C. O’Neill & Larry McDaniel & Seth McGinnis & Linda O. Mearns & Claudia Tebaldi, 2015. "Future population exposure to US heat extremes," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(7), pages 652-655, July.
    15. Ivar Kolstad & Azreen Karim & Päivi Lujala & Arne Wiig, 2023. "Expert adoption of composite indices: a randomized experiment on migrant resettlement decisions in Bangladesh," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 119(1), pages 261-297, October.
    16. Karim, Azreen & Noy, Ilan, 2020. "Risk, poverty or politics? The determinants of subnational public spending allocation for adaptive disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    17. Azreen Karim & Ilan Noy, 2016. "Poverty And Natural Disasters — A Qualitative Survey Of The Empirical Literature," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 61(01), pages 1-36, March.
    18. Daniel Adshead & Amelie Paszkowski & Sarah S. Gall & Alison M. Peard & Mohammed Sarfaraz Gani Adnan & Jasper Verschuur & Jim W. Hall, 2024. "Climate threats to coastal infrastructure and sustainable development outcomes," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 14(4), pages 344-352, April.
    19. Attila N Lázár & Helen Adams & W Neil Adger & Robert J Nicholls, 2020. "Modelling household well-being and poverty trajectories: An application to coastal Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-23, September.
    20. Sepehr Eslami & Gualbert Oude Essink & Amelie Paszkowski & Katharina Seeger & Philip S. J. Minderhoud & Kees Sloff & Robert J. Nicholls, 2025. "A systems perspective for climate adaptation in deltas," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 15(7), pages 687-691, July.
    21. Makidul Islam Khan & Goutam Kumar Kundu & Mosammat Salma Akter & Bishawjit Mallick & Md. Monirul Islam, 2018. "Climatic Impacts and Responses of Migratory and Non-Migratory Fishers of the Padma River, Bangladesh," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-19, December.
    22. Robin Leichenko & Julie A. Silva, 2014. "Climate change and poverty: vulnerability, impacts, and alleviation strategies," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(4), pages 539-556, July.
    23. Karim, Azreen, 2018. "The Household Response to Persistent Natural Disasters: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 40-59.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Verschuur,Jasper & Becher,Olivia Rose Elizabeth & Schwantje,Tom & Mathijs Van Ledden & Kazi,Swarna & Urrutia Duarte,Ignacio M., 2023. "Welfare and Climate Risks in Coastal Bangladesh : The Impacts of Climatic Extremes onMultidimensional Poverty and the Wider Benefits of Climate Adaptation," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10373, The World Bank.
    2. Hai‐Anh H. Dang & Stephane Hallegatte & Trong‐Anh Trinh, 2024. "Does global warming worsen poverty and inequality? An updated review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1873-1905, December.
    3. Sonia Akter & R. Quentin Grafton, 2021. "Do fires discriminate? Socio-economic disadvantage, wildfire hazard exposure and the Australian 2019–20 ‘Black Summer’ fires," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 1-21, April.
    4. Risa Nakamura & Akiyuki Kawasaki, 2022. "Quantitative Evaluation of Flood Control Measures and Educational Support to Reduce Disaster Vulnerability of the Poor Based on Household-level Savings Estimates," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 355-371, July.
    5. Susana Ferreira, 2024. "Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change: Economic Impacts and Adaptation Policies," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 16(1), pages 207-231, October.
    6. Edouard Pignède, 2025. "Who carries the burden of climate change? Heterogeneous impact of droughts in sub‐Saharan Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 107(3), pages 925-957, May.
    7. Nekeisha Spencer & Eric Strobl, 2025. "Modeling the Impact of Extreme Climate Events on Household Welfare: An Empirical Framework," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 88(4), pages 921-964, April.
    8. Adnan, Mohammed Sarfaraz Gani & Abdullah, Abu Yousuf Md & Dewan, Ashraf & Hall, Jim W., 2020. "The effects of changing land use and flood hazard on poverty in coastal Bangladesh," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. S. Nazrul Islam & John Winkel, 2017. "Climate Change and Social Inequality," Working Papers 152, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    10. Junyan Tian, 2025. "Vulnerability to Adverse Climate Change: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 37(4), pages 765-791, August.
    11. Maamoun, Nada & Grünhagen, Caroline & Ward, Hauke & Kornek, Ulrike, 2024. "A Seat at the Table: Distributional impacts of food-price increases due to climate change," EconStor Preprints 281165, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    12. Nath, Sanchayan & Shams, Jahin & van Laerhoven, Frank & Driessen, Peter, 2022. "The impact of decision-making on conflict: Rethinking the roles of technocrats and residents during Tidal River Management in coastal Bangladesh," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    13. Bryan, Elizabeth & Behrman, Julia A., 2013. "Community–based adaptation to climate change: A theoretical framework, overview of key issues and discussion of gender differentiated priorities and participation," CAPRi working papers 109, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Ervin, Paul & Gayoso, Lyliana & Rubiano Matulevich, Eliana Carolina, 2025. "Uneven Waters : Examining Poverty and Urban and Rural Households' Exposure to Flood Risk in Paraguay," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11215, The World Bank.
    15. Md. Shafiqul Islam, 2024. "Fishermen using social-ecological resilience adapting coastal disasters," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 1-23, February.
    16. Rio Yonson & Ilan Noy, 2020. "Disaster Risk Management Policies and the Measurement of Resilience for Philippine Regions," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(2), pages 254-275, February.
    17. Markhof,Yannick Valentin & Ponzini,Giulia & Wollburg,Philip Randolph, 2022. "Measuring Disaster Crop Production Losses Using Survey Microdata : Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9968, The World Bank.
    18. Rohit Kumar Yadav & Suresh Chand Rai & Md Riyazuddin Khan & Karuna Shree, 2025. "Drought's silent symphony and unmasking the invisible weight on human life in Chhatarpur of Bundelkhand Region, India," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Dependra Bhatta & Krishna P. Paudel & Kai Liu, 2023. "Factors influencing water conservation practices adoptions by Nepali farmers," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 10879-10901, October.
    20. Stéphane Hallegatte & Adrien Vogt-Schilb & Julie Rozenberg & Mook Bangalore & Chloé Beaudet, 2020. "From Poverty to Disaster and Back: a Review of the Literature," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 223-247, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64920-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.