GovTwin / Institution
Dinajpur District
Local Gov
Dinajpur is a large northwestern border district known as a rice granary, also producing maize, litchi and the country's coal and hard-rock at Barapukuria and Madhyapara. It is one of the poorest districts in the nation and carries the largest forest base among its neighbours.
Wealth rank 7/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.39°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #38/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +79%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 72 km²
Forest loss 876 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 2,068 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 Among the nation's poorest districts: mean Relative Wealth Index is -0.238, national rank 7 of 64 (1 is poorest). So what: Deep, broad-based poverty in a major food-producing district signals that agricultural output is not translating into household welfare. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX), ~2.4 km grid
- environment Forest loss of 875.9 hectares (2001-2023) is by far the highest among the four districts, despite the largest remaining tree cover (312.6 km2 in 2021). So what: Continued clearing of the region's largest forest base erodes biodiversity and the natural buffer against heat and erosion. Source: Hansen Global Forest Change v1.11 (UMD) via Google Earth Engine
- air quality Aerosol pollution is extreme, with AOD ranking 2 of 64 nationally (1 is worst); NO2 (rank 38 of 64) adds to the burden from the coal mine, power plant and brick kilns. So what: Near-worst-in-country aerosol exposure compounds respiratory risk around the Barapukuria coal-power complex. Source: MODIS MAIAC aerosol optical depth (550 nm) via Google Earth Engine
- water Effectively no permanent surface water (0.1 km2) leaves the rice-granary economy heavily dependent on groundwater irrigation. So what: Groundwater-dependent paddy in a Barind-influenced district risks falling water tables that would threaten national rice supply. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
- climate disaster Substantial monsoon rainfall (2,068 mm) drives flooding and erosion along the Punarbhaba, Atrai and Dhepa rivers. So what: Recurrent flood damage to the granary's standing crops directly affects national rice availability. Source: CHIRPS v2.0 precipitation (UCSB Climate Hazards Group) via Google Earth Engine
- urbanization Built-up area is the largest of the four districts (71.9 km2) and has grown 32 percent since 2000, expanding onto prime granary farmland. So what: Loss of fertile land to settlement undercuts the district's role as a national food source. Source: GHSL built-up surface (JRC) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Pair the district's rice and maize surplus with value-addition (drying, milling, cold storage) and farmer-cooperative marketing to lift farm-household incomes. Responsible: Department of Agricultural Extension / Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation · policy proposal
- Enforce protection of remaining reserve forest and run community social-forestry and woodlot programmes to halt clearing and restore cover. Responsible: Bangladesh Forest Department · policy proposal
- Tighten emission controls and monitoring around the Barapukuria coal-power complex and convert surrounding brick kilns to cleaner technology. Responsible: Department of Environment · policy proposal
- Promote surface-water re-excavation, rainwater harvesting and AWD irrigation to reduce groundwater stress in the granary. Responsible: Barind Multipurpose Development Authority · policy proposal