GovTwin / Institution
Comilla District
Local Gov
A densely populated, relatively prosperous district on the Dhaka-Chattogram corridor, Comilla (Cumilla) combines intensive agriculture, remittance-driven households, and fast-growing industry around the EPZ and national highway. Its wealth ranks among the highest of the 64 districts, but corridor traffic and industry give it some of the country's worst nitrogen-dioxide pollution.
Wealth rank 61/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.72°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #8/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +77%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 109 km²
Forest loss 351 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 2,318 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
- air quality Tropospheric NO2 reaches 57.0 umol/m2, the 8th-highest of 64 districts, reflecting heavy Dhaka-Chattogram highway traffic, brick kilns, and EPZ-area industry; aerosol optical depth is 0.485 (52nd of 64). So what: Top-ten NO2 loading exposes a dense population to chronic respiratory risk and marks Comilla as a national air-quality hotspot outside the megacities. Source: Sentinel-5P tropospheric NO2 via Google Earth Engine
- urbanization Built-up surface has grown about 46% since 2000 to roughly 109.4 km2, sprawling along the highway corridor and consuming some of the country's most fertile triple-cropped land. So what: Corridor sprawl onto prime farmland erodes the agricultural base of a high-density district and feeds the same traffic that drives its pollution. Source: GHSL built-up surface (JRC) via Google Earth Engine
- agriculture Intensive cropping faces a daytime surface-heat level around 27.3C with a 0.72C warming trend, raising irrigation demand even as permanent surface water is only about 10.3 km2, the lowest in this set. So what: Warming plus scarce surface water pushes farmers onto groundwater, threatening dry-season irrigation security in a food-surplus district. Source: MODIS MOD11A2 land surface temperature (daytime) via Google Earth Engine
- water With only about 10.3 km2 of permanent surface water, Comilla depends heavily on groundwater for irrigation and domestic supply across a very dense population. So what: Thin surface-water reserves leave the district vulnerable to dry-season shortages and falling water tables under rising demand. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
- climate disaster Annual rainfall of about 2,318 mm, concentrated in the monsoon, produces flash flooding and waterlogging in the Gumti basin and the district's low-lying eastern haor-edge areas. So what: Monsoon flooding damages standing crops and recurs in the same low-lying belts each year. Source: CHIRPS v2.0 precipitation (UCSB Climate Hazards Group) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Phase out fixed-chimney brick kilns toward cleaner technology and enforce vehicle-emission and freight standards along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway corridor. Responsible: Department of Environment · policy proposal
- Apply strict agricultural-land-protection zoning to channel EPZ-driven and highway sprawl away from triple-cropped land. Responsible: Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) · policy proposal
- Promote surface-water harvesting, re-excavation of khals and ponds, and efficient irrigation to reduce groundwater dependence. Responsible: Bangladesh Water Development Board · policy proposal
- Improve Gumti-basin embankment maintenance and drainage to limit flash flooding and waterlogging of cropland. Responsible: Bangladesh Water Development Board · policy proposal