A new online platform that will work as a one-stop resource to avail the latest data on climate, climate change and its impact on the health of Bangladeshi people was launched on Tuesday.
The website — cch.icddrb.org — is the first of its kind in the country. It was developed in collaboration with icddr,b and Data for Impact (D4I) through USAID-funded Research for Decision Makers (RDM) Activity.
Two teams (consultant and developers) worked over 1.5 years to make it happen, said Mahin Al Nahian, research investigator and the project coordinator.
“Whenever we are talking about climate change and its impact, health comes last as an issue, despite knowing that it can hamper all development. Getting inspiration from that fact, this website has been developed to bring the issue to attention with scientific evidence,” he said.
Now, everyone can get information from the open sources available through this website. Researchers would also get all necessary information or links in one place, he added.
Dr Peter Kim Streatfield, emeritus scientist at icddr,b and the project lead, officially launched the website on Tuesday. He pointed out the data scarcity issue, and how it is hard to find good reliable and real-time data on climate change in Bangladesh.
The programme was jointly organised by icddr,b and D4I, a data-driven initiative of the University of North Carolina, and was supported by USAID.
The website provides data on vector-borne diseases, heat waves and heat stress, air pollution and food security, among others. It will also provide real-time data on weather through collaborating with global climate data providers.
Mahin said although the site was developed under a project, icddr,b will keep this website live and update it regularly.
“icddr,b has the technology to measure air qualities at Mohakhali only. We are now looking for a fund to set up a small weather station at icddr,b so that they can do climate modelling of their own,” he said.
