Sublime

It is a question of when—not if—large and growing areas of countries become uninhabitable owing to prolonged freshwater shortages, extreme heat, widespread flooding, and frequent, costly storms. Bangladesh may well be the first country with a substantial population to face this problem on a large scale. The amount of land able to support human exis

for more than three-quarters of the world’s economy. As they expand, many of the world’s fast-growing cities end up building over floodplains, forests, and wetlands that could absorb rising waters during a storm or hold reservoirs of water during a drought.

As they expand, many of the world’s fast-growing cities end up building over floodplains, forests, and wetlands that could absorb rising waters during a storm or hold reservoirs of water during a drought.