Black Water

In southern Bangladesh, Lokhi and her family prepare to escape an extreme climate and flee from their rural home. They are headed to Dhaka – the fastest growing city in the world as storms, cyclones and erosion force thousands of people every day to find refuge in the capital.

Humanity is heading towards a ‘climate apartheid’. The rich will pay to escape global warming, famine and conflict, while the poorest will suffer the worst consequences. By the year 2050, Bangladesh will have approximately 220 million inhabitants, and a large part of its territory will be permanently submerged. This situation could lead to the forced displacement of between 10 and 30 million inhabitants of the country’s southern coastline.  

They will be forced to flee as ‘climate refugees’, a human collective that is expected to reach 250 million people worldwide by mid-century. On a planetary scale, we are talking about the largest mass migration in human history. How long will Dhaka withstand the arrival of so many people? Where will all these people go when the cities collapse? Who will take them in?