1. For five years I have been watching the climate story unfold in South Asia for @third_pole.

It is a story quite often reduced to disasters, pollution, and hardship.

Disasters and drama dominate the news cycle but the story encompasses much more than that.
3. In terms of disasters there are four things that dominate climate reportage from S Asia: droughts, floods, the rising sea, and fields turned infertile.

Some of these stories are crippling, like in Afghanistan, where people were forced to sell children: https://www.thethirdpole.net/2019/01/17/drought-afghanistan/">https://www.thethirdpole.net/2019/01/1...
6. Almost hidden from discussion is the slow creep of the rising seas - the Indian Ocean is warming faster than the rest - bringing salinity and poverty to people already very poor: https://www.thethirdpole.net/2018/01/15/rising-sea-swamps-island-along-bengal-coast/">https://www.thethirdpole.net/2018/01/1...
7. While some of this has to do with just the warming world, human intervention, often the mismanagement of river systems, plays its part, as river waters are not reaching the sea, allowing saltwater to come flooding in, to devastating effect: https://www.thethirdpole.net/2020/05/05/pakistan-indus-delta/">https://www.thethirdpole.net/2020/05/0...
17. Sadly, though, much of the problems are undermined by a diplomatic system where we are still arguing about who is responsible, and who should pay (the developed countries are, but it isn& #39;t happening): https://www.thethirdpole.net/2019/12/10/no-money-for-climate-loss-and-damage/">https://www.thethirdpole.net/2019/12/1...
19. Bangladesh, a country with no coal deposits, and huge vulnerabilities to climate change, is all set to go from 2% coal produced energy to 50% by 2022 (relax, it will fail to meet targets, but still): https://www.thethirdpole.net/2017/02/09/will-bangladeshs-future-be-coal-black/">https://www.thethirdpole.net/2017/02/0...
20. And water mafias operate in many major cities in the region, undermining rule of law, undercutting the ability of the state to pay for infrastructure, and leaving urban areas easy prey for water shortages when droughts hit: https://www.thethirdpole.net/2016/11/10/karachis-burgeoning-water-mafia/">https://www.thethirdpole.net/2016/11/1...
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