Assessing vulnerability to climate change: Are communities in flood-prone areas in Bangladesh more vulnerable than those in drought-prone areas?

Bangladesh often suffers from droughts and floods that cause substantial harm to households and communities. The frequency of such events is expected to increase with climate change. Assessing the vulnerability to climate change is a promising evaluation tool that can assist in identifying and improving adaptation strategies at various geographical scales. In this paper, we examine the vulnerability status of two regions in Bangladesh, one in the north, which is frequently impacted by severe droughts, and one in the south, which is exposed to regular flooding, high water, and salinity. We evaluate the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of each region using demographic, agro-economic, infrastructural, and biophysical indicators. We consider information obtained in a literature review, interviews with local experts, household surveys, and field visits in the study areas. We use principal components analysis to assess vulnerability to climate change between and within the north and south regions. The flood-prone, saline region in the south appears less vulnerable to climate change the northern drought prone areas, although further validation is needed.