GovTwin / Institution
Rangpur District
Local Gov
Rangpur is the divisional headquarters of the northwest, a flood-prone agrarian district on the Teesta floodplain long associated with seasonal monga food insecurity. Its economy rests on paddy, tobacco, potato and maize farming, with the divisional town now the fastest-urbanizing node in the region.
Wealth rank 18/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.42°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #36/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +98%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 54 km²
Forest loss 192 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 2,227 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 Persistent rural poverty: mean Relative Wealth Index is negative (-0.148), placing Rangpur among the poorer half of districts (national rank 18 of 64, where 1 is poorest). So what: A thin household asset base leaves Teesta-belt families with no buffer against crop failure or river shocks, perpetuating the historical monga cycle. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX), ~2.4 km grid
- economy Despite being the divisional capital, nighttime-lights growth (98 percent) ranks only 31 of 64, signalling middling economic dynamism relative to its administrative weight. So what: Slow lighting-proxied growth means the divisional hub is not pulling in private investment fast enough to absorb rural surplus labour, reinforcing out-migration. Source: VIIRS nighttime lights (annual radiance) via Google Earth Engine
- climate disaster High annual rainfall (2,227 mm) concentrated in the monsoon drives Teesta and tributary flooding and riverbank erosion across the floodplain. So what: Recurrent flood and erosion losses destroy standing crops and homesteads, deepening the poverty trap a policymaker must break. Source: CHIRPS v2.0 precipitation (UCSB Climate Hazards Group) via Google Earth Engine
- air quality Aerosol loading is elevated, with AOD ranking 10 of 64 nationally (1 is worst); NO2 (rank 36 of 64) reflects growing traffic and brick-kiln emissions around the divisional town. So what: Worsening particulate exposure raises respiratory disease burden in a district with limited tertiary health capacity. Source: MODIS MAIAC aerosol optical depth (550 nm) via Google Earth Engine
- agriculture Negligible permanent surface water (0.8 km2) leaves dry-season irrigation dependent on groundwater for paddy, potato and tobacco. So what: Groundwater-only dry-season cropping is unsustainable as water tables decline, threatening the district's main income source. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
- urbanization Built-up area has expanded 54 percent since 2000 (to 54.2 km2), with growth absorbing fertile floodplain farmland. So what: Unplanned peri-urban sprawl on prime agricultural land erodes the very farm base the divisional economy depends on. Source: GHSL built-up surface (JRC) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Sustain and target the Teesta-belt poverty and monga-mitigation programming with seasonal employment and cash support timed to the lean season and post-flood recovery. Responsible: Department of Disaster Management / Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief · policy proposal
- Strengthen Teesta riverbank protection and embankment maintenance and revive the long-pending Teesta river-management works to cut erosion and flood exposure. Responsible: Bangladesh Water Development Board · policy proposal
- Expand surface-water harvesting, re-excavate canals and promote AWD (alternate wetting and drying) and low-lift surface irrigation to reduce groundwater dependence in dry-season cropping. Responsible: Barind Multipurpose Development Authority / Department of Agricultural Extension · policy proposal
- Enforce conversion of brick kilns to cleaner zigzag/block technology and tighten vehicle-emission checks around the divisional town. Responsible: Department of Environment · policy proposal