In Chauk Township, Magwe Division, all but one farmer DVB spoke to in April were unaware of the country’s unenviable podium finish on climate change vulnerability, but each individual confirmed that rising temperatures and changing weather patterns had acutely changed the nature of their livelihoods.
Once predictable rainfall patterns are a thing of the past for farmers in the region.
“The monsoon rain has reduced by as much as 30 percent during the last 30 years, therefore the water availability from the rain has reduced.
Often, these rains must sustain farming communities for the rest of the season.
So you have more rain in less days of rain,” Capizzi said.
“When I went to those villages, I found out that the people there are really short.
When I asked them why they are so short and why their skin is so dark, they confessed that their village was experiencing water shortages and that they had to travel three or four miles to get water and then carry them back to home,” Kyaw Thu added.
Government representatives warned attendees at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris that the country’s greenhouse gas emissions would increase in line with industry and infrastructure development.
The DMH data recorded an increase in annual mean temperatures almost nationwide, with particular spikes in major central cities Mandalay, Sagaing and Magwe.
Youth exodus Most farmers in the Dry Zone can trace their lineage on the arid land for generations.