GovTwin / Institution
Magura District
Local Gov
A small inland district in the southwest, Magura is one of the poorest in the country and lives almost entirely on agriculture, with paddy, jute, and pulses on the Ganges-Gorai floodplain. It has warmed faster than most of its neighbors and has very little surface water, leaving it dependent on groundwater and exposed to heat stress.
Wealth rank 17/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.47°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #40/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +112%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 15 km²
Forest loss 21 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 1,686 mm/yr
Indicators: Meta RWI (HDX); ERA5-Land; MODIS; Sentinel-5P; VIIRS night-lights; GHSL; Hansen v1.11; CHIRPS v2.0. Exposure: GloFAS v2.1, FABDEM, MODIS LST, ACAG PM2.5, WorldPop 2020.
Problems and issues
- poverty Mean Relative Wealth Index of -0.155 makes Magura the 17th-poorest of 64 districts, one of the weakest rural economies in southwest Bangladesh. So what: Deep, persistent poverty with little industry means climate and agricultural shocks translate directly into household distress and out-migration. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX), ~2.4 km grid
- climate disaster Air temperature has warmed 0.47 C, among the higher rates in the region, with recent daytime surface heat of 27.8 C and rainfall of only 1686 mm. So what: Rising heat on a low-rainfall floodplain intensifies pre-monsoon stress on paddy, jute, and pulses, the district's core livelihoods. Source: ERA5-Land reanalysis (Copernicus/ECMWF) via Google Earth Engine, district mean
- water Only 4.1 km2 of permanent surface water leaves Magura heavily reliant on groundwater for dry-season irrigation and supply. So what: Limited surface storage in a poor, farm-dependent district raises the cost and risk of dry-season irrigation as the water table is drawn down. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
- air quality Aerosol optical depth of 0.66 ranks Magura 19th-worst of 64 districts, a notable particulate haze burden over the southwest plain. So what: Elevated aerosols add a respiratory-health cost to an already poor population with limited access to specialized care. Source: MODIS MAIAC aerosol optical depth (550 nm) via Google Earth Engine
- urbanization Built-up area grew 90 percent since 2000 to 14.9 km2, expanding settlement onto cropland around Magura town. So what: Loss of farmland to settlement chips away at the narrow agricultural base of the district's economy. Source: GHSL built-up surface (JRC) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Target social safety nets, rural credit, and jute and pulse value-chain support to lift the poorest unions and reduce distress migration. Responsible: Department of Agricultural Extension and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation · policy proposal
- Re-excavate khals and ponds for dry-season surface storage and promote water-efficient irrigation to ease groundwater pressure. Responsible: Bangladesh Water Development Board and Department of Agricultural Extension · policy proposal
- Distribute heat- and drought-tolerant rice and pulse varieties with agro-met advisories to protect yields under rising heat. Responsible: Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and Department of Agricultural Extension · policy proposal
- Enforce cleaner brick-kiln standards and curb open crop-residue burning to lower seasonal aerosol haze. Responsible: Department of Environment · Brick Manufacturing and Kiln Establishment (Control) Act