Outlook's Siobhann Tighe travelling around Bangladesh

Outlook’s reporter Siobhann Tighe has travelled to Bangladesh to see how the people are coping with heavy rainfall, flooding and soil erosion. Experts studying climate change predict that if sea levels rise by just one metre a great swathe of southern Bangladesh, reaching almost to the capital city of Dhaka, will be underwater.

Listen to Siobhann reporting on the effects of soil erosion

Siobhann travelled around Bangladesh for the World Service's TAKING THE TEMPERATURE season.

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Siobhann is travelling in a boat along the main rivers of Bangladesh to see for herself the impact of too much water on a nation which is so reliant on its rivers for their economy and culture. The cruiser has been chartered by the BBC to explore how Bangladeshis are coping with flooding, and all its life-threatening consequences.

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Along the way Siobhann’s stopping off to speak to local families about the changes in weather that they’ve witnessed and how they are adapting. Already she’s heard from families whose homes are slipping into the water because the river bank is collapsing.

	A family from a village called Yasin Char, 30 km south of Dhaka. Their home is at the brink of collapse because of soil erosion.

A Bangladeshi teacher has been so concerned about the effect of soil erosion that she’s composed a special song about it. In her delicate voice she prays that the river won’t engulf her family home and make them all homeless. Siobhann's also spoken to a man, who manages one of the many jetties or docking stations along the river Meghna, who says every monsoon season is frightening because of the risk of flooding. Local fishermen have also been affected:

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