In Bangladesh, around 49 per cent of the drinking well water – which almost everyone drinks – has unsafe limits of carcinogenic arsenic. A new study led by Dr Seth Frisbie of Norwich University, USA, found that the climate crisis is making the situation worse – pointing to a looming public health crisis. And as more saltwater and freshwater mixes, arsenic leaching could cause health issues for several other countries too
Dr Mohammad Shamsudduha of University College, London commented, “Climate change may cause deterioration of groundwater quality in low-lying deltaic environments including the Bengal Delta where the population exposure to not only arsenic but also water salinity is the highest among the Asian Megadeltas.”
